I just picked up my Macbook Pro from Laptop Clinic in Malmö, Sweden. Now everything is running smoothly again ... but first I got sternly reprimanded. He said, "You need to treat your battery differently than you did if you want it to last a long time!. When you get home, run it down to zero and then up to 100%. That will calibrate it! Then, you need to remove the charger and use your computer on battery power only until the battery is down to 5% and then you recharge it to 100%. That's the way: 5% then 100%, then 5% then 100%. If you do then your battery will last a very long time."
He went on explaining that most people don't treat their batteries well. They either keep the charger in all the time (me), or they never go down to 5% they just unplug it for a short amount of time and then charge it again and then the battery is not healthy. It quits after a few months...
I began to think about life. I am a deep thinker and this seemed to have something to do with life in general. Think about it. Many of us don't take the time to charge our "inner batteries" correctly it seems. We certainly miss calibrating our inner batteries too:
Calibrating your soul
I find that I need to take some time - about twice a year at least - to calibrate my life. I need to stop what I am doing, take some time off, and listen to my soul. That means no distractions, no social media and a few days of solitude with a notebook and my Bible.
I ask myself a whole lot of questions as if I was a friend who cared and wanted my best. How is my soul? Is it out of energy? What does it need in order to feel 100%? What does it want more of, less of? What is draining my energy? What would recharge me? Where is my shoe pinching my "foot"? What makes me happy? How about my body? Do I need more exercise?....
I find that the answers to these questions help me to see what/how I need to readjust my priorities and daily planning so that the re-charging can take place.
Recharging
There are many ways to recharge your inner batteries a whole list of them can be found in this article:
For me, time with family is a great recharger. My daily "quiet time" with God in the morning and worship sessions are also great ways to recharge me. I've also noticed that long walks in the forrest, running and gardening recharge me. What works for you?
Recharging properly
Now. I want to come to my main point. That is, it is easy to try to charge and use or energy but do we do it properly? Do we take the time to analyse how we are doing and calibrate it? Or do we just throw in a little tv here and a dinner at a restaurant there and work, work, work hoping that our batteries will last under pressure?
Young mothers that work are some of the ones that have the hardest time getting their batteries recharged. I know. Been there done that. But running on a haphazardly cared for inner battery is something that we all can find ourselves doing in this stressful world.
I would like to encourage you to love yourself enough to set aside some time to calibrate your life and then make sure you recharge your soul regularly. Then you'll be able to run hard and still have energy left over to what you need to do.
It's time to make an appointment with yourself
Take your calendar and make an appointment with yourself so you can listen in, calibrate and adjust your life so that you get the power you need. Do it now. You will love yourself for it!
Elisabeth Kitzing
is an American songwriter and music creator based in Sweden. She blogs about peace of mind from a faith based perspective. You can find her music on major music platforms and read more of her blogs on Featherheadmedia.com. Follow her musical journey for free in The Indie Musician's Diary on Wattpad. In it music creators can get tips on mixing and music promotion, and more!