The most important language I’ve learned so far
A tool to help you live your best life
I learned how to say, “thank you” in Mandarin last week.
I’ve always loved learning languages.
I was 12 when I learned how to swear in Greek and 14 when I learned how to say, “I don’t know where the hedgehog is” in Russian. (I was 30-something when a Russian friend corrected my pronunciation of hedgehog.)
But, the most useful language I’ve learned so far is the one I learned at the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (IPEC): The Language of Energy Leadership. This system was created by Bruce Schneider.
This language has changed my life and now I want to teach you the basics.
Are you ready?
Let’s go.
There are seven energy levels. We all have the potential to flow through all of them all day everyday. No levels are “bad” and no levels are “good.” They are all different.
Each energy level represents the way we see the world. Imagine having seven different pairs of sunglasses. Each pair has a slightly different tint so the world looks different through each pair. Those sunglasses are the energy levels.
And, just like you get to choose which sunglasses you wear, you get to choose the energy level through which you see your experiences.
The first two levels are catabolic (negative) so I call them the “cat box.”
Level 1 is the level of victimhood. In this level, we’re rolling around in the kitty litter. We feel sorry for ourselves. We feel helpless and hopeless. We feel shame, guilt and overwhelm in this level. This is the level of feeling stuck.
We often find ourselves in level 1 when we’re experiencing grief, illness or injury.
In level 1, we have very little energy to help ourselves (that’s why it often feels hard to get out of bed), but from level 1, we’re often good at asking for help.
After I crashed my bike in a race a few years ago, I found myself in level 1. I was in a lot of pain and felt myself rolling around in the cat box.
I told Pete that I wished I could coach myself. I needed a coach with the same training that I had. A few hours later, I received a message from someone who said that she had watched my training video in the Performance Coaching training hub and wanted to connect. She was exactly what I was looking for. In less than a month, I was back on my bike and racing with a joyful mindset.
Level 2 is the level of pissyness. In this level, we’re throwing poop. We’re angry and rude in this level. We believe that it’s our way or the highway. We want to win and make everybody else lose.
Anger brings with it a whole lot of physical energy so it’s possible to get a lot done from level 2 energy, but holy moly is it unpleasant to be around someone in level 2. It’s also exhausting for the person in level 2. I mean, we can only stomp our feet for so long before we’re tired and our feet hurt.
It’s totally normal to get angry every once in a while. It’s also totally normal to throw poop back at someone when they throw poop at us.
AND: We always have a choice. Like all of the levels, level 2 is here to serve us, but if we stay there too long, we’ll just be covered in poop.
Let’s clamber out of the cat box and into level 3. We’re still hanging out right next to the cat box here, maybe even dancing around the edges.
In level 3 we tolerate stuff. We put up with clutter, uncomfortable clothes, icky food, toxic relationships, leaky roofs, dripping faucets and annoying meetings. When we do feel negative feelings about something, we’ll explain it away. When we’re in level 3, we can rationalize anything.
It’s easy to find something we’re level 3-ing about in our lives. Just looking around me while I write, I see the bottles of nail polish on my desk. Those are there because we had to move out of our primary bathroom while we dealt with the mold there and I wanted to paint my nails and blah, blah, blah. I could keep arguing for my limitations, but instead, I’ll get up and put those bottles away in our newly remodeled bathroom.
Done.
Let’s move onto level 4.
This is the level of love, care, nurturing and gratitude. In level 4, we put others before ourselves. When we really want to go for a run, but a loved one needs a ride somewhere, we’re in level 4. When we’re caring for someone who isn’t feeling well, we’re in level 4. When we’re picking out the perfect gift for someone, we’re in level 4.
Level 4 is all about giving. It’s a very sweet level, but it’s not sustainable. If we’re always giving without receiving, we will quickly find ourselves back in level 1 (no one ever takes care of me) or level 2 (F* all y’all, I do everything around here). We’ll refill our cups while we hang out in the cat box, then return to level 4, give until we’re empty and then start the cycle all over again.
Remember: We are all designed to have a full cup and to give to others from our overflow.
Moving on up to level 5, here we go! Level 5 is all about opportunity. Everything is an opportunity here. An injury might be a great opportunity to get in the gym and get stronger. A rainy day might be a great opportunity to snuggle up with puppies and a book. Mold in the bathroom was a great opportunity to upgrade a shower we never liked.
Level 5 isn’t about “toxic positivity,” or “spiritual bypassing.” It’s about seeing the unwanted thing, possibly taking a brief swim in the cat box, and then finding the opportunity. There’s always an opportunity. Just as there’s always a choice in how you respond to something.
Level 5 is also all about finding the opportunity in the good stuff. A sunny day might bring a great opportunity to play in the garden. A sleeping puppy might bring an opportunity to write. A bumper crop of zucchini brings endless opportunities for zucchini bread, lasagna, vegan cheesecake, zucchini quinotto, ratatouille and more.
Level 6 is the level of one-ness. We’re all in this together. We all win or we don’t play. In level 6, we feel our connection with nature, animals, all humans… everything. We know that we are all one. We understand that we’re all different pieces of a puzzle, that we fit together perfectly and that we rise together.
This is the level of deep joy and appreciation. When we’re having SO MUCH FUN, we’re in level 6.
When we’re living in alignment and using our Human Design strategy and authority, we find ourselves in level 6, feeling excited, successful, peaceful or delightfully surprised, depending on our energy type.
This finally brings us to level 7. This is the level of being in flow. When we’re in flow, we’re not aware of time or discomfort. We find ourselves here when we’re creating, doing something athletic or meditating. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi found that we find ourselves in flow when something is challenging, but not too challenging. It must be challenging enough to engage us, but not so challenging that it feels impossible.
Level 7 is awesome AND nothing is real in level 7. There are no relationships, there’s no food, there’s no laughter, there’s no life. In other words, we can’t live there, but it’s a great place to visit every once in a while.
Whew. That was a lot! If you want to dive deeper into how to use the energy levels to make your own life awesome, book a coaching session here.
I love you.
Love,
Kelsey
I appreciate you so much! Thank you for being here. If my work has helped you in some way, please consider becoming a paid or VIP subscriber.
Love your article and Substack! Working on my meditation at the time 🤗
Reay enjoyed this read thank you for writing it our so well love that cat litter box analogy 🐈⬛️