Mental Batteries

Monitoring the charge of my mental and emotional battery

The changes I set in motion the past few months have been really beneficial for me. It introduced a polite and respectful energy which powers a quiet and  persistent positivity which has often eluded me in the past.

Like a battery, this energy needs to be recharged to continue delivering consistently.  And like a battery there are also best practices on how to use and care for the battery to ensure a longer lifespan and consistent performance. Unlike devices that use batteries, I do not a visual indicator to inform the level of battery charge left. My indicator is my behaviour and the ever present internal dialogue.

It takes a high level of self awareness to pick up the moment when the flavour of my internal dialogue and behaviour starts to turn sour. I often zoom past early warning signs and land myself in a bad spot. However, I've recently seen small improvements in my ability to notice early warning signs of a drop in temperature of my mental well being. I've also been assisted by technology - I was able to go back to a message sent to a colleague on my office messaging tool (Teams) and edited the tone of my message before she read the message.

---

It was time for lunch. My patient husband accompanied me into town to pick up a Sunday indian curry for lunch. While we waited for my meal to be prepared, he spotted his Chevrolet, parked outside a barbers at the eastern end of the main street in Pukekohe. I made a few pictures and as I stepped back to take a photo to capture the car in it's environment, a another classic car drives into the scene. Serendipity.