By Judy Okolo
Most professionals believe their energy is determined only by how many hours they sleep, what they eat, or how often they exercise. While these certainly matter, there is another powerful influence that quietly shapes your vitality every single dayyour environment.
Not just the office you work in or the house you live in, but the people you spend your days with.
Energy, contrary to popular belief, is remarkably contagious.
Think about it. Have you ever walked into a boardroom where nothing had been said, yet you could immediately sense tension? Or spent an hour with someone who constantly complained and somehow left feeling mentally exhausted yourself? Conversely, have you met a visionary leader whose optimism made you feel capable of achieving more than you imagined?
That isn’t merely psychology. It is biology.
Our brains are wired to constantly read social cues. We unconsciously mirror the emotions, attitudes and behaviours of those around us. This invisible exchange consumes mental resources, influences our hormones and even affects our motivation to act.
Many spend ten to twelve hours each day surrounded by ambitious colleagues, demanding clients and high-performance cultures. While such environments can fuel excellence, they can also normalise chronic stress, perpetual urgency and emotional fatigue.
Perhaps the greatest energy thief in today’s workplace is not workload but emotional climate.
A culture of endless competition, negativity, office politics or constant crisis quietly drains cognitive bandwidth. Decisions become harder. Creativity declines. Patience wears thin. Ironically, many attempt to solve this with another cup of coffee when what they truly need is a healthier environment.
The same principle applies beyond the office. Your digital environment matters just as much. Every notification, alarming headline, heated social media debate or endless comparison competes for your attention and depletes your mental reserves. Your phone has become an environment you carry everywhere.
The encouraging news is that environments can be intentionally designed.
Conduct an “energy audit” this week. Identify the people, places and digital habits that consistently leave you feeling energised or depleted. Protect time with individuals who inspire growth, not gossip. Create physical spaces that encourage calm and focus by reducing clutter and increasing natural light where possible.
Schedule short breaks outdoors, allowing your brain to reset between demanding meetings. Finally, establish digital boundaries by creating periods each day when your devices are silent and your attention belongs fully to you.
Success is often measured by the size of our network or the prestige of our workplace. Yet sustainable wellbeing depends just as much on the quality of the environments we repeatedly expose ourselves to.
After all, we do not merely work in our environments.
Eventually, our environments begin to work on us.
Until next time, lets glow intentionally.
Judy Okolo is a Pharmacist and a certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach