Curating Energy: Protecting Your Spark in a Noisy World
How to tune out the noise, turn up your frequency, and reconnect with what fuels you?
A few days ago, my American friend Maya called me from Paris, where she has been living for the past few years as a writer. We hadn’t spoken in a while, and she opened our conversation by asking, “How can you stand it? How can you stay so positive?” There was a long pause before I replied. “What do you mean?” She said, “Well, with everything that’s happening around you. I read the American news from here, and it’s all so awful. How can you stand it?”
I chuckled. “Well, I don’t read the news first thing every morning. In fact, I don’t even read it every day. I don’t live in ignorance, but I get what I need when I need it and when I choose to read it.”
Before I could elaborate further, she said, “You’re protecting your energy—so smart.” I hadn’t thought about it that way, and yet I agreed completely.
Her question illuminated something I’ve been contemplating deeply with my clients lately. Here was Maya, thousands of miles away in Paris, sent into depths of despair by American news consumed from across the ocean. We’re a community of curious humans exploring the hidden stories that shape our lives—the challenges, disappointments, perceived limitations, as well as inspiration and joy. Yet the stories we tell ourselves shape what we see as possible.
This conversation reminded me of a recent session with my client Emma, who had just returned from a vacation in Hawaii. Back in sunny Southern California, she was struggling with reintegrating into her work routine and couldn’t discern where to begin. She was navigating a sort of midlife crossroads, uncertain about priorities and the direction she desired for her future. She shared that in Hawaii, everything felt effortless and expansive—she joked that her partner teased her because she often referred to “this country,” and he had to remind her that Hawaii was indeed part of the United States.
I asked what made it so restorative. How did she commence her days there? She opened the curtains and absorbed the view. She ventured outside. She took meandering walks. They spent hours on the beach, hiking, reading books, and savoring conversations in real life.
I asked her what felt so dramatically different about life back in Santa Monica. “Well, here I begin the day at home scrolling through my phone in bed and consuming the news first thing. Before I know it, an hour has gone by. Maybe two. I don’t see the point of getting out of bed.” As soon as she heard herself say it, she recognized how counterproductive it was. I asked her what elements of her Hawaii morning ritual she could transplant back to Santa Monica. “For starters,” she said, “I can stop reading the news first thing in the morning.”
What is energy in this context?
The definition of energy is the strength and vitality required for sustained physical or mental activity. Scientists define energy as the capacity to do work. Modern civilization flourishes because people have learned how to transform energy from one form to another and then harness it purposefully.
Why is this particularly crucial for Turbo Thinkers©? One of our greatest strengths is an acute sense of empathy. We experience feelings with remarkable intensity. It’s not that our emotions are inappropriate for the situation—it’s that sometimes they’re extraordinarily amplified. It’s as if we have the radio station tuned correctly, but our volume knob is wonky. Sometimes it’s cranked way too loud, and sometimes it’s the opposite. We become so absorbed in our thoughts that we disconnect from our surroundings, and then the volume becomes barely audible.
The beauty of this radio metaphor is that we can learn to adjust our own frequency and volume. We can modify the frequency when we want to deeply connect with others or fully experience joy. We can change it when we’re overwhelmed by another’s suffering or when the world feels too intense. This isn’t about numbing ourselves—it’s about conscious calibration for our wellbeing and efficacy.
This gift of empathy renders us exceptionally generous, so much so that we can devote ourselves to others sometimes to our detriment, where we neglect our own needs. This heightened empathy means we are profoundly intuitive, but it can also engulf us and diminish our spirit so that we viscerally absorb another person’s suffering. As Turbo Thinkers©, we sometimes struggle with self-regulation—the capacity to modulate our thoughts, actions, and emotions. To accomplish this, we require energy: mental, physical, and emotional. Without it, we cannot regulate ourselves or access our executive function skills.
By knowing how we best operate, we can curate the environment and ecosystem that best supports our needs. We can manage our environment in order to manage our Turbo Thinker© symptoms and in order to better access our Turbo Thinker© strengths. We have agency! We get to choose what best supports us. We get to surround ourselves with positive people.
What is interesting is that we not only surround ourselves with people that we admire and who inspire us, but also those that make us feel most like ourselves. Rather than comparing and shaming ourselves for not having achieved as much, we can be inspired and encouraged. We want to surround ourselves with those that make us think, “I am my best self when I am with you.” We want to find a personal cheerleader, whether it’s a friend, relative, or coach. Cheerleaders transfer energy, just like cheerleaders and fans transfer their energy to the athletes on the field and on the courts. They uplift us so that we can be our best selves. Being part of a team also surrounds us with cheerleaders. The sense of camaraderie encourages us to cheer each other on and uplift each other. We get a sense of belonging and a source of strength.
Protecting our energy also means protecting ourselves from information. We have access to more information than ever now, but not all of it is good information. We get to choose which stories serve us and which stories don’t. Not that we want to live in ignorance, but we can be very selective. For example, when I want to read unbiased news about my country, I read about it from foreign news sources, maybe even in other languages. I search for alternate perspectives. I search for a multitude of stories and quickly discern which are both factual and supportive. We are in this world to harness the power of positive story, not destructive story. We can choose to focus on what we have, which, in turn, encourages a gratitude practice. We can also focus on where we can have an impact for the greater good. What stories serve us and our environment best? Which ones inspire hope? Which ones inspire action?
Creating Energy in Our Smaller Radius
Rather than being depleted by negative energy from a larger, international or national radius, we can cultivate and discover positive energy within our smaller, local sphere. We can find energy sources literally in our own backyard. My friend Maya in Paris lamented that she still struggles to find community. When I shared with her how grateful I am for my neighbors, I realized that many of us live online and forget the humans who are literally next door.
We have beautiful communities existing right within our immediate radius. We can practice gratitude for the tiny rosebud or the chirping sparrow. I’m grateful for my city, my neighborhood, and my neighbors with whom I can converse. These are local people making a tangible difference with free events, leading nonprofit groups, and simply sharing the harvest from their garden or the music that they create on the front porch. We have community gardens, bike paths, a free pool and yoga classes, parks, art museums, free concerts, and clothing swaps. These are real life, real people—not online narratives of doom, but real daily micro-miracles available to us right now in lived experiences that invite participation and positive exchange of energy.
It’s our job to tune into the right station, operating on another frequency. We want to tune into the positive frequency and dance to the vibration of a higher beat. This energy gives us more possibilities, more opportunity, more gas for our Turbo Thinking© brain, and creates even more energy that we can share with others. Just like a smile, positive energy is contagious, and when we can create it for ourselves, we can expand and share it, and uplift others as well.
Many of my clients feel limited by believing that we have finite time and energy that should not be wasted. I love to see what happens when they notice that we actually possess the capacity to generate more. What energizes you? Is it brainstorming weekend adventures with close friends, exploring an unfamiliar park, or discovering a new museum? Can you practice breathing exercises to cultivate energy and soothe your nervous system? How about embracing mindfulness practices—my healer calls it “sitting in the void” — to open ourselves to the energy within and the positive energy surrounding us.
She also recommends noticing the four elements as you sit or take a walk outside. Where do you observe fire, air, earth, and water? How do you connect to them? What happens over time when you keep a gratitude journal—not merely general gratitude, but how do we recognize and identify the daily miracles that surround us? Like Emma discovered, sometimes the miracle is as elementary as opening our curtains to the view instead of our phones to the news.
My friend Maya in Paris ended our conversation on an upbeat note. She vowed to curate her newsfeed more mindfully and limit her “doomscrolling.” She also remembered friends she could reconnect with and events she might attend. When she first moved to Paris, she made a conscious effort to explore and appreciate all the city had to offer. Over time, she had grown complacent—but now, she felt ready to rediscover her adopted home with fresh eyes. She smiled as she reminisced, “Remember years ago, I was living in the U.S. as a teacher? I didn’t even dare call myself a writer. You helped me see myself that way. You helped me make my dream come true. And now, I’m a writer living in Paris. It’s pretty incredible—and I sometimes forget that.”
When we choose what stories, people, and experiences we allow into our field, we’re not escaping—we’re editing for impact. Protecting your energy is an act of self- leadership. And once you learn to generate your own positive energy, you don’t just survive—you expand. You rise. And you help others rise with you.
Three Key Takeaways:
Energy is not just preserved—it can be cultivated.
Curating your inputs helps you protect your empathy and stay grounded.
Local connection and mindful rituals are powerful sources of daily fuel.
Three Coaching Questions:
How can you cultivate and protect positive energy for yourself?
How can you grow and expand that energy to empower others?
What story are you telling yourself—and is it one that energizes or depletes you?