Simply put – most people want to get more out of their lives in some way. That’s human nature right? We want to do things that make us excited and feel engaged in life. Well I’ve discovered that even if that is true, most of the time we are sinking into what I call LESS. This is an acronym that describes a mood, tendency, and/or an energy state of a person in their own lives. I will describe it in two ways: LESS = Lower Energy State Stasis
It is also:
LESS = Lazy, Egotistical, Stressed, Starving
It is my belief that when our egos take over our lives, it is looking for the easiest way to do nothing and feel like we’re better than everyone else. It’s a simple game of survival – do as little as possible and prove that we are better than others (so that we prove our “social worth”). This is obviously a dysfunctional way to live life, but there is some sort of twisted efficiency to it. It is also effective to some degree, as otherwise we would not have this tendency.
Let’s push this a little bit further and relate it to physics. When a particle is “at rest” it has reached its lowest energy state possible in its given environment. That is, if it was in a higher energy state before, but is now in a calmer environment, it will discard energy in the form of vibrations, heat, light, or some other form. This is the nature of the universe. We also obey this rule to some degree. If we are in a calm environment, we will seek to sit or lie down and relax. If we are in a very busy environment, we will tend to try to move about, get work done, or if we are in a gym with other people exercising, we will also feel motivated to exercise(mostly).
There is nothing inherently wrong with this nature. It is the way of things. The real problem is what happens to you when you have little change taking place in your life for a significant period of time. Your entire energy state for life will decrease. You will effectively reach your lowest energy state. This is usually not good. When a person gets complacent with multiple areas of their life, it bleeds into almost all areas. We all know people who exude this same “laziness” towards most aspects of living.
The even more disturbing truth, is that all of us have probably also experienced something similar. Life stops being interesting because we’ve hit a lull. This lack of energy and interest now infects all areas of our lives – making us lead LESS of a life than we actually intend to.
Lazy:
It all starts with a little bit of laziness and lack of desire to do something big or small. We put it off, procrastinate, or even just decide to be less thorough with something in our lives.
Egotistical:
Our ego will hide this tendency from it. In fact, if someone calls us out on our laziness, we will deny it. We may even look for a reason to ridicule the person calling us out. Maybe we justify it in the very moment. But very likely you are not admitting to the fact you simply felt very lazy.
Stressed:
Stress in modern day living is more/less considered a norm. But why? What is so stressful about living in the modern day? Not living up to expectations? Those bigger questions may haunt you, but what are you thinking about? When you start to probe your life, you may find that even simple matters that are typically not stressful, are now so. This leads to fear avoidance behavior.
Starving:
I’m not talking about eating here. I’m talking about stimulation. If you are in this lower energy state of LESS, you really are in fact looking for something to spark you back into living again. You are starving for interests, energy, companionship, experience….Something. But you aren’t getting it. In fact, you’ve probably stopped looking, or maybe you don’t even expect to find it.
This is the essence of LESS – you now are at the mercy of an energy state that defines you in these 4 different ways. You have chronically disabled yourself (at some level) by preventing yourself from pursuing the experience of fully living life. I only speak so frankly about this, because I’ve experienced this first hand. I know exactly what it feels like to be in a state of LESS.
Now LESS is a concept of general complacency and negative behavior in a person’s life. The relative intensity of this state will vary among individuals but is definitely a reality. Many people I know and love are stuck in LESS. They’ve literally forgotten what it was like to live outside of this energy state. The more one perpetrates any of these concepts: laziness, ego, stress, or starvation – they reinforce the energy state and sink deeper into.
Now of course, defining a problem is only part of the problem. If you are going to identify something that’s great. But what about a solution? Well I’ve got you covered. I believe that if you engage a similar yet completely opposing concept, you get yourself out of LESS and into MORE.
MORE: Motivated Ongoing Reality Engagement
MORE = Moving, Original, Revitalized, Energetic
So just like LESS, MORE is an energy state of the person at a given moment in time. The intensity of this energy signature will also vary and drift just these ideas perform in physics. If you talk to someone who is deemed successful, likable, and full of energy you know what I’m talking about. Say someone like Tony Robbins – a legend of self-improvement and success in life. This man has a seemingly endless source of positive energy and engagement in life that appears divine in nature. I’ve never seen this man in person, however I don’t doubt the magical effect he has on those he interacts with. There are other similar people we may meet that have similar energies. You simply want to be around people like this.
So let’s get to the characteristics that define this energy state:
Motivated:
Motivation flows from the person easily – as they have goals, processes, and tendencies that drive them to do. They do things with enthusiasm and momentum. You don’t need to push a person like this, they will push you instead. The motivation flows from them easily and flows to any project or task they are engaged with.
Original:
Once again, when you talk to someone in this energy state, you get the distinct and unique feel of a person. You don’t feel like they are copying someone else, or mimicking someone else’s work. It feels fully authentic. Even if someone is say creating art that is a replica of another’s, they still have that original passion and characteristic uniqueness that makes a person a person. This is the authentic and genuine energy of an individual. When you are in this state, you feel like yourself.
Revitalized:
In this state, a person is able to rest well enough to fully energize themselves. We may think that the heroes we have are always full of energy and can go forever – but they are human too. All humans need rest. Observing that rest, in the many forms that it comes, is necessary and vital to a person living MORE. It may mean sleep, entertainment, emotional, spiritual, etc. When a person is revitalized, they are rested and ready to take on life.
Energetic:
Pretty obviously a person who is living MORE is fully of energy. This energy is ready to get that person on with their journey to fuel beautiful unique outcomes. The focus for the person is on the DOING, not on the results themselves. If you are truly engaged in life, you may have goals in mind, but the sheer focus and energy is on the doing, not simply the result. Thinking in these experiential terms is what fuels a person to continue to be energetic in the moment. Focusing only on end results is nearer to LESS than to MORE.
Life is a journey. It is a much more enjoyable experience when focus on living each and every single moment, no matter how insignificant. You get the most out of it pouring your interest and energy into those experiences. Living MORE defines a person by engaging them to their core. This is the opposite of living LESS. LESS is when you have allowed your ego to infiltrate your daily life to the point that you are simply existing instead of living.
If you have found that you are living LESS instead of MORE, I am in the process of developing techniques to draw out the ideals that constitute MORE and avoid falling into LESS.
As always I wish you well in your life journey and hope to have helped shine some light on reality in a way that empowers you. Til next time.
~Frank Striatum