There’s a saying back home in Swabia: “Weeds never die.” Personally, I much prefer: “Quality lasts.” Either way: It hit us hard. I honestly can’t remember the last time I was completely knocked out for several days. That simply doesn’t happen in my world. So why now, of all times? The past 30 days were incredible. I would even say it was one of the most beautiful cruises we’ve ever had. At the same time, it was intense.
We experienced so much, met so many people, gave talks and workshops, had countless conversations, laughed, enriched people’s lives, and were basically always on the move. Exactly what I love. I had no idea at the time just how fitting one of the last photos from this journey would turn out to be. After my second talk on the bridge, we gave the bridge team a giant KitKat bar. And of all things, the words on it read: “Big Big Big Break.” A few days later, apparently my body decided to take that message seriously. And I felt great throughout the entire journey. Until apparently, my body had other plans.
I’m not a doctor, and I’m not going to give you a medical explanation for why Anke and I got sick. Maybe it was simply bad luck. Maybe several things came together. But while I was lying there, barely capable of doing anything other than sleeping, I started thinking about something important: How good am I at giving energy—and how good am I at replenishing it?
Stress, constant tension and a lack of recovery rarely leave our bodies completely unaffected. Of course, that doesn’t mean everyone gets sick when they work hard. And getting sick certainly doesn’t automatically mean that someone was under “too much stress” beforehand.
But I can take a look at myself. And in my case, the answer is pretty clear: I absolutely loved giving a lot during those weeks. Maybe you know that feeling. When you love what you’re doing, you sometimes don’t even notice that your battery is slowly running down. Everything works. You’re having fun. You’re excited. So you keep going.
And here’s the interesting part: An empty battery doesn’t always feel empty right away. Sometimes you only notice it when suddenly, nothing works anymore. And while I was thinking about that, one of my favorite images came to mind. Imagine waking up every morning with a fully charged battery for the day. Energy from that battery goes into your work, other people, decisions, appointments and all the other things life brings with it. Some of those things recharge you at the same time. Others drain you. And then there are all those things we voluntarily burn energy on without them making our lives any better whatsoever.
We get upset about news that simply is what it is. We spend time on gossip. We have conversations in our heads with people who aren’t even in the room. Or we start worrying today about something that may never happen.
And that’s where it became interesting for me. Maybe this isn’t about giving less. I still want to give everything I’ve got. On stage, in my workshops, to the people I love and to the things I believe in. Maybe I just need to pay closer attention to what I spend my energy on. Because there’s a huge difference between investing energy in something that truly matters to me and simply allowing that energy to disappear into thin air.
So I’m taking something very simple away from these past few days: I will continue to give it my all. And I will be even more conscious about deciding who or what actually deserves my energy. Maybe you’d like to ask yourself the same question today. What are you spending energy on right now even though it doesn’t make your life any better?
Maybe it’s even something thousands of miles away that you haven’t experienced yourself. Before our trip, for example, we heard the wildest horror stories from people about entering the United States. “You can’t go there anymore. The things they want to know about you…” If you listen to stories like that often enough, you can spend weeks worrying about a problem that may not even exist. Looking back, I genuinely wonder how many of those stories were based on personal experience at all—and how many were simply the result of a giant game of telephone. Because our own experience entering the U.S. on several occasions was about as simple and straightforward as it has ever been in the nearly 30 years I’ve been traveling there. And that’s exactly what I mean.
How much of our precious energy do we spend on things that may exist only in our minds? Maybe that’s exactly where you can save a little energy and invest it instead in the things that truly matter to you and the people you care about. My body, at least, has now taken the break it wanted. Apparently, it was a little more consistent about that than I was.
With that in mind, I wish you a wonderful week. Take good care of yourself—and your energy.
