College Kids and Balance

I was invited to speak at Middlebury College to students who wanted to listen to my presentation on work/life balance. It was fascinating and interactive and this is what I learned.

• They feel like they work too much, and school work overrides every other energy pod
• They are aware that they leak energy in technology, but do not have good modeling behavior to learn otherwise.
• They learned that compliments can be a disarming tool for negative behavior. They practiced how to give an authentic compliment.
• They understood that when this plan is used correctly, there is no guilt about having or not having energy. One girl wrote on her paper, "Guilt is dumb".
• They struggle with commitments, either having too many or none at all. Having nothing to do on a weekend causes them anxiety.
• Decisions are difficult for them, and they feel frustrated by how to go about making larger life decisions on classes, study abroad programs, and jobs. They want to know where to put these energy points. (Work)
• They realized that they dont spend enough time being inspired, and want to figure out how to fit that in.
• They learned that sometimes you have to say to someone, "That doesn't work for me".  You don't have to go along with something that is causing more stress than you can handle. We role played an interaction where a demanding project mate wants to do "their" version, and learned how to stop the energy leak and turn the interaction around.

Everyone struggles with similar energy imbalances, whether you are a 50 year old woman with teenagers, or a college student with newfound independence. The 50 Point Energy Plan works for everyone.