Are You Creating, Coasting, or Consuming Energy?

One of our Core Beliefs is that complex systems can be dissected through the lens of energy flows. Below is one model to help dissect and explore these patterns.

Understanding Energy Flow

One helpful way to understand our relationship with energy is through the metaphor of three distinct states:

1: Creating

Investing energy to build something new or grow capacity — like learning a new skill or starting a project.

2: Coasting

Maintaining equilibrium, neither building nor depleting — like practicing established routines.

3: Consuming

Drawing from stored energy or harvesting previous investments — like using accumulated expertise.

Key Benefits of the Exercise

01 — Improved self-awareness

02 — Balanced productivity

03 — Informed decision-making

04 — Nonjudgmental reflection

05 — Long-term alignment

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Inflows and Outflows

These states flow between each other like seasons in nature. Creation feels like dawn breaking — ideas spark and multiply, generating their own momentum. It’s the artist at their easel, lost in flow, each brushstroke birthing new possibilities. The energy is electric, expanding, yang.

Coasting can manifest as either gentle autopilot or harmonious flow. Sometimes it’s the bicycle freewheeling downhill, mind pleasantly empty. Other times it’s the seasoned chef moving through their kitchen with unconscious grace, each motion effortless yet precise. The energy is balanced, self-sustaining.

Consumption takes many forms — from mindless scrolling that leaves us drained to the deep satisfaction of savoring hard-won achievements. It’s the difference between inhaling fast food versus enjoying a meal harvested from your garden. The energy is yin, receiving rather than generating.

Time Lags and Investment Cycles

Energy patterns often involve a dance between present action and future results. A creative period might show no immediate visible outcomes while building long-term capacity. What appears as consumption might actually be harvesting wisely from previous investments. The time lag between investment and return adds complexity to understanding our patterns.

The Integration

While we can categorize these states, they often blend and support each other. Creation requires periods of rest and consumption to refuel. Coasting can provide the stable foundation needed for creative leaps. Even consumption, when conscious, can inspire new cycles of creation.

Conclusion: Understanding and Harmony

At first glance, our energy patterns can seem like a chaotic web of habits, moods, and external pressures. But by understanding these core states — creating, coasting, consuming — and their interactions, we gain valuable insight. The goal isn’t to judge any pattern as inherently good or bad, but to develop awareness of these flows in your life.

Notice where you’re in harmony with current needs and where tension might signal need for adjustment. With practice, what once seemed like an overwhelming tangle becomes a dance you can learn to choreograph with intention.