If you explore eastern spirituality and medicine, you’ll find that they were onto something a long time ago, that we seem to have lost sight of today — the importance of energy:

• In yoga, the Sanskrit word ‘Prana’ can be translated as ‘vital energy’, and the breathing techniques used are known as ‘pranayama’ from ‘prana’ (vital energy) and ‘yama’ (to gain control).
• In Chinese medicine and martial arts, the central theme is ‘qi’ (pronounced ‘chi’), which can be similarly translated as ‘vital energy’.
• In Tibetan and Ayurvedic medicine there is a belief in three primary energies.

The list goes on.

The focus on ‘energy’ in these contexts is not simply referring to metabolic energy or the kind of boost you might get from your morning coffee; but a deeper and more esoteric sense of energy that drives us forward in life. You might choose to use the word ‘vitality’ as an alternative.

Whilst these cultures and schools of thought definitely contain their differences; there is a clear and common belief around the importance of investing in practices that sustain your vital energy and keep it in a state of balance.

If you think of yourself as a cup, and your energy as the liquid in the cup, then you can simply acknowledge that some things will drain the cup, and others will fill it, but it’s important not to let the cup get empty (that’s when you get into burnout territory). You can drain the cup for a bit but if you consistently drain it more than you fill it then you’re living in a way that is not sustainable for the long term.

In the context of being a Founder or Leader, keeping the cup filled is a huge challenge; but one that, if you don’t take responsibility for, nobody will do it for you.