When I first decided to transition to online coaching a few years ago, I spent a long time trying to come up with a business name. I wanted to find a word that really resonated with me about how I hoped people would feel when they worked with me. The word ‘vitality’ was it.
What exactly is vitality, anyway?
Vitality is defined as ‘the state of being strong and active; energy’.
Vitality synonyms - liveliness, life, energy, spirit, exuberance, bounce, vibrancy, vim, pep, zest, sparkle, passion, fire, vigor.
For me, personally, vitality is about bringing my full and best energy to the people, the situations and the causes that mean most to me AND helping others do the same. It’s about showing up in life with energy, passion and purpose.
Here are 5 reasons why you need to create and sustain vitality:
Vitality helps us maximize our personal and professional potential. When we optimize vitality it helps us with forward momentum and thinking and prevents us from getting and staying stuck.
Vitality has a positive effect on the people around us. Your vitality and positive energy can actually ripple out and energize those around you.
According to positive psychology research, vitality is correlated with happiness and wellbeing. The VIA Character Strengths Assessment is a psychometrically validated personality test that measures an individual’s 24 character strengths. Vitality, or zest, is one of five character strengths that is correlated with happiness and wellbeing. The other four strengths, by the way, are curiosity, hope, gratitude and love. Take your VIA Character Strengths Assessment here.
When vitality is optimized it has a positive effect on our physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing. Physically, we feel strong and energetic, mentally we feel excited and passionate, and spiritually we feel a sense of having purpose and meaning. Collectively these experiences show up as a sense of a feeling of aliveness, preparing us to face the challenges and opportunities ahead of us.
Lastly, and most importantly, we need to create and sustain vitality because once drained, it needs to be recharged. We are probably all too well aware of the negative drains on our energy, but even the things we love to do can drain that vitality too! While having purpose, meaning and being of service to others can optimize our wellbeing, much like too much of any good thing, it can come at the expense of our vitality, our health, loved ones, or other values. And if left unchecked for long enough, can lead to burnout.
To show up as our best selves and to bring our full and best energy to the people and the moments that mean most to us, we need to s-l-o-w down and recharge our batteries daily so we can go back into tomorrow prepared and equipped for the adventures, challenges and opportunities presented to us.
So there you have it. Five reasons WHY you need to create and sustain vitality.
Which one resonates most with you?
Want to learn more about WHAT drains your battery and HOW to quickly recharge it?
Watch for the blog next week - 'Do You Know Your Vitality Vampires and Boosters?'
Want to learn how to create space for vitality by aligning your time, energy and priorities with your purpose? Get on the email list for my upcoming course 'Create and Space for Vitality: Align your time, energy and priorities with your purpose'.
🧡 Anita
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