Positive Psychology Column for 7-27-03 By Tom Muha, Ph.D. KEEPING YOUR SPIRITS HIGH It’s Sunday, the day of rest and renewal.  How will you restore your energy today so that when it’s time to get up tomorrow you will have all the energy you need to take on the demands of the week? Balancing your energy expenditure with sufficient recovery represents one of your most fundamental challenges.  You have an energy reservoir from which you draw throughout most of the week, and you need to routinely fill it back up or it will run dry. Many people assume that they can spend energy indefinitely, but over time they become increasingly self-absorbed and insensitive to others.  Symptoms of low levels of energy include persistent illness, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, negativity and anger, and loss of passion. You need an abundance of energy in order to be healthy and happy, in addition to being able to perform well at work.  Energy renewal is more than just the absence of work.  It is filling the spaces between work with love, friendship, and a strong spiritual connection. Spirituality is one of the character strengths that has proven to be an essential ingredient for achieving happiness, according to researchers in the new science of success and satisfaction.  It provides a powerful source of motivation, perseverance and direction for your life. The trait of spirituality involves having a connection to a deeply held set of values as well as a compelling sense of your purpose for being here. Spirituality supports passion, commitment, integrity and honesty.  It connects your spirit to other human beings. To sustain your spiritual energy you must seek ways to rest and rejuvenate and reconnect to the values you find most inspiring and meaningful.  Activities that can generate considerable spiritual renewal without expending significant energy include walking in nature, listening to music, or reading an inspirational book.  Spiritual energy gives you the courage and conviction to live by your values, even when that requires personal sacrifice and hardship.  Without a clear sense of direction you will operate in survival mode, doing only what is necessary to fill your immediate needs and get by day-to-day. When you become depleted of spiritual energy, you will sense that you are disengaging from other people.  You will see your own needs as urgent and trying to shift your attention away from them will prompt primitive survival fears.  You’ll wonder who will look out for you if you focus your attention on others. The irony is that the more preoccupied you become with your own concerns, the less you will be able to take positive action.  Self-absorption does not permit access to external sources of positive energy, ultimately causing a starvation of your human spirit. Recovering your spiritual energy requires subordinating your own needs to something beyond your self-interest in order to be of service to others or to a cause.  Helping other people is an immensely rewarding way to experience a deeper sense of meaning and self-worth. Volunteers who regularly have personal contact with a person in need get a “helpers high,” according to results of a survey in Spirituality and Health magazines June 2003 issue.  Even after the initial good feelings wore off, there was found to be a longer period during which volunteers had increased self-worth, calmness and reduced stress. Having a helping connection to another human being also helps improve your health, says Allen Luks in the same issue of Spirituality and Health. Helping others produced long-term health benefits including relief from back pain and headaches, lowered blood pressure and cholesterol, and curbed overeating and alcohol and drug abuse. The strongest source for renewal of your spiritual energy comes from having a connection to the Higher Power.  Regardless of the religious context in which you establish your relationship to the Higher Power, the results are the same.  Researches around the world have found that it’s easier to achieve a high level of happiness if you regularly engage in spiritual rituals.  People who sincerely believe in God have faith that ultimately goodness will prevail.  So they have much more hopeful attitudes about having a good life.  Most important, they choose a life that makes meaningful contributions toward creating goodness. Tremendous energy is derived from having deeply held values and a purpose beyond your self-interest.  When you feel that what you are doing really matters, you will have abundant energy to invest in a particular activity or goal.  Having purpose and meaning in your life gives you a powerful and enduring source of positive energy and the strength to ride out life’s inevitable storms.   Tom Muha is a psychologist in Annapolis. He welcomes your comments and questions. To contact him call (443) 454-7274 or email him at tom@achievinghappiness.com.