Anabolic ‘n Catabolic Energy Defined

In my May 20^th blog, The Coaching (R)evolution, I referred to two elements of iPEC’s coaching model ~ the concepts of catabolic and anabolic energy.

When people talk about energy, they tend to use the terms negative/positive or bad/good.  “I got a bad vibe about that place.”  “She’s full of positive energy.”

In the Energy Leadership model, developed by iPEC founder Bruce D. Schneider, we prefer to use the terms catabolic and anabolic.  Think of catabolic as:

• being more in line with destructive thoughts, feelings and/or reactions.
• catabolic energy dissipates when it is released.
• the average person lives in a catabolic state from 75% to 90% of the time.
• living in a catabolic state generates a significant amount of stress and uses up a huge amount of energetic resources.

The higher energy levels tend to have a more anabolic or constructive energy. Anabolic reactions build new structures so within our model anabolic energy is a way to build new thoughts, ideas and approaches in your life.

• the average person spends only 10% to 25% of the time in an anabolic state.
• lower levels of anabolic energy directly impacts your ability to motivate yourself and be a leader in your own life.

We do not judge catabolic as bad energy and anabolic as good.  It is not about eliminating catabolic energy from your life.  In fact, when you understand how these two energies work, catabolic energy can actually be harnessed to drive anabolic reactions.

As I said in my May 20^th blog, Energy Leadership is about understanding your potential to lead and motivate yourself and others in life.  How can you take a leading role in your life instead of living by default?  How can awareness about catabolic and anabolic energy help you become more pro-active in designing your daily experience of living?

Check in tomorrow for more on catabolic energy and the lower energy levels from the Energy Leadership Model.