Energizers

My wife, Chris, used to jokingly call me the "Energizer Bunny," because before I was diagnosed with cancer, I could hardly sit still. From vaccuming the carpet to washing the laundry to mowing the lawn, she would say that I made her tired and she could never seem to keep up with me. It think it's just my personality to constantly be busy - but an energizer?


A study from of the University of Virginia found that "someone who is energizing elevates the performance of other people around them." So exactly what does it mean to be an energizer? I don't think you can "google" it, but I know the traits of the people I have known that have elevated my performance.


First, it might help us to understand what an energizer is not:

1. It is not a person who is a cheerleader, full of false enthusiasm.


2. An energizer is not a wild-eyed optimist.
3. Any particular personality type.

So what is an energizer? An energizer is a person who brings out the best in others by investing in them. How? By making sure the person that they are with feels that he or she is the most important person in the world. For example, if you are an energizer and a person comes to talk to you, then you devote your undivided attention to that person with eye contact and a conversation filled with questions and interaction.




An energizer can be a shy person, but he or she focuses on possibilities, not restraints. Negative comments and put-downs are not a part of the energizer's vocabulary. When you walk away from an energizer, you are glad you had time with them and in some way, he or she makes you proud of who you are and what you do. An energizer genuinely cares for others.
23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, Col 3:23 (NKJV)


I am learning that I have a long way to go. I need to improve - first at home, and then at school & church!