The Energetic Self-Perception chart shows these seven levels of energy – consisting of two levels of catabolic and five levels of anabolic energy—and illustrates the core thoughts, emotions, and actions associated with each of the levels. 

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Understanding Level 1 Energy

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Core Thought: Victim
Core Emotion: Apathy
Action/Result: Lethargy

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Level 1 energy is characterised by thoughts, beliefs, emotions, and perceptions that work against you, hinder you, or make you feel like you have no control over certain aspects of life. This is catabolic Level 1 energy—feeling like a victim to those thoughts or circumstances. When you operate from this perspective, you might feel a lack of choice or options. While everyone experiences each level differently, most people describe Level 1 as confining, draining, fearful, weak, and helpless.

Leaders experiencing Level 1 energy tend to focus on problems because that's where their attention is drawn. When a person's consciousness resonates with Level 1 energy, they attract and focus on more Level 1 energy, which means they are concentrating on and creating more of what they don't want. Our mindset allows us to choose how we see things. We can direct our attention to the beautiful rose or to the thorns on its stem. Both await our gaze, but the Level 1 leader only sees the thorns or problems, not the rose or solutions.

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Level 1 Energy

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Advantages:

• Self-Protection: By playing it safe and avoiding risks, you minimise the chances of failure or getting hurt.

• Attention and Sympathy: You may receive sympathy and attention from others due to your perceived struggles.

• Lack of Responsibility: You don’t have to take responsibility for negative events or outcomes, allowing you to avoid blame.

Disadvantages:

• Low Engagement: Minimal engagement means you're not very effective and likely won't enjoy your activities.

• Difficulty in Change and Decision-Making: You struggle to effect change and make quick, accurate decisions. You believe you can't alter the present situation and feel like you've already lost.

• Lack of Inspiration: You can't inspire others and struggle to change your own self-defeating attitude.

• Low Energy Levels: Your overall energy level is low, further hindering your effectiveness and satisfaction.

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Understanding Level 2 Energy

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Core Thought: Conflict
Core Emotion: Anger
Action/Result: Defiance

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Level 2 energy is also catabolic and is associated with thoughts of antagonism, resentment, struggle, resistance, frustration, and defiance.

When you blame or judge others, insist on being right and winning at all costs, and feel that you must fight for yourself to get what you want, you are in conflict mode and experiencing Level 2 energy.

From a Level 2 perspective, everything is seen in binary terms: black or white, right or wrong, good or bad. These judgments limit your options, as the full range of possibilities is obscured.

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Insights on Level 2 Energy

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At Level 2, your focus is on "what's wrong," "what's broken," and often, "who or what is to blame." You prioritise your own needs above others'. While this approach might yield short-term results, relying on constant catabolic energy will eventually exhaust you and those around you.

Many leaders often find themselves operating at Level 2 energy. Competing with others (and sometimes against oneself) is a common goal for many leaders. At this level, the mindset is that someone else must lose for you to win. While this might seem true in certain situations, even in competitive environments, there are usually more powerful and healthier ways to achieve great results.

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Level 2 Energy

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Advantages:

• Short-Term Productivity: You can accomplish a lot quickly.

• Motivation: You can motivate others, albeit through pressure.

• Hyper-Focus: You can be extremely focused on immediate tasks.

Disadvantages:

• Lack of Inspiration: Others are not inspired by you. Your motivation tactics may make them feel bullied or coerced.

• Force Over Power: Achievements are driven by force, not true power.

• Misplaced Focus: This energy causes distraction and a lack of genuine focus, often leading you to concentrate on the wrong things. Conflicts in one area can hinder high performance in other areas of life.

• Long-Term Health Issues: Sustained use of this energy leads to systemic breakdown and potential "dis-ease."

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Understanding Level 3 Energy​

 

Core thought = Responsibility

Core emotion = Forgiveness

Action/result = Cooperation

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Level 3 energy represents the first level of anabolic energy. At this stage, individuals embrace responsibility for their thoughts, emotions, and actions. They understand that their thoughts and feelings are within their control, not dictated by external factors.

The primary focus of Level 3 energy is on achieving victory, reaching personal goals, and advancing one's own agenda. What sets this level apart from Level 2 is that individuals operating at Level 3 aspire for both themselves and others to succeed. However, their own success takes precedence. Unlike Level 2, where the mindset is "I want you to lose," Level 3 is characterised by the desire to win.

Individuals with significant Level 3 energy excel at rationalising. They inspire themselves and those around them by devising methods to manage, forgive, accept, tolerate, negotiate, and rationalise feelings of resentment, stress, disappointment, and other challenges. This approach aims to foster cooperation and enhance overall productivity.

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When discussing Level 3 energy with your client, it's important to highlight that this energy can serve as a pathway to transition away from a catabolic state. By tapping into Level 3 energy, individuals can effectively address areas where they are encountering resistance. Embracing Level 3 energy marks a significant achievement and serves as a foundational step toward accessing even higher levels of energy and effectiveness.

Rationalisation plays a key role in the Level 3 energy dynamic. It involves interpreting situations and the actions of others in a manner that fosters a positive view of oneself and those around you. This coping mechanism is typically employed to manage stress. While operating at this level, individuals may still pass judgment on others, but they are more inclined to exhibit tolerance and cooperation in their interactions.

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Advantages of Level 3 Energy

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• You don’t let other people or life’s circumstances hinder your goals.

• You have effective coping mechanisms to manage negativity and stress, allowing you to feel good.

• You consistently achieve results that are "good enough."

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Disadvantages of Level 3 Energy

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• You might manipulate or take advantage of others to achieve your goals at any cost.

• You may settle for mediocrity, rationalising that things are fine as they are.

• You fall short of reaching your full potential for high performance.

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Understand Level 4 Energy

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• Core Thought: Concern

• Core Emotion: Compassion

• Action/Result: Service

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Level 4 energy is moderately anabolic, centred around the core thought of concern. This level is characterized by caring, giving, supporting, and helping. It often appears very selfless, as the primary focus is on working and achieving to ensure the success of others. At this level, you feel and express gratitude.

When operating at Level 4, you take little to nothing personally, allowing you to view situations more objectively. Your main focus is on helping others and wanting to fix everything to "make it all better." However, there's still an element of judgment, as you believe there is a better way for the person or situation to be than how it currently is.

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Advantages of Level 4 Energy

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• You foster collaboration, teamwork, and loyalty.

• You are inspired and inspire those around you.

• You genuinely care for and help the people and causes that matter to you.

• You can be very self-nurturing.

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Frequently Overlooked Aspects of Level 4 Energy

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Level 4 energy is also associated with self-nurturing, including unconditional self-compassion and self-acceptance. Although these terms are not commonly used in leadership circles, their power is well understood. A leader’s ability to cultivate both self-compassion and self-acceptance directly impacts how they handle disappointing results, especially when they feel they have not lived up to their potential. Until a higher level of energy can be consistently reached and maintained, judgment will remain present.

Resiliency is a wonderful quality, and unconditional self-compassion and self-acceptance are powerful concepts for shifting energy. A leader experiencing these qualities has no need to worry about others' opinions of their performance and can focus entirely on the task at hand.

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Disadvantages of Level 4 Energy

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• Concern for being liked and compassionate may prevent you from pushing yourself or others out of comfort zones. This may provide temporary relief but can hinder long-term growth that comes from facing adversity.

• To avoid burdening others, you may take on too much yourself.

• Your energy level can drop quickly if things don’t go as planned.

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Level 5 Energy

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• Core Thought: Reconciliation

• Core Emotion: Peace

• Action/Result: Acceptance

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With Level 5 energy, you see opportunities, possibilities, and solutions everywhere. This energy allows you to have a highly conscious, wide-ranging view of situations, giving you many choices as you "play the game of life." You strive for "win-win" outcomes because you believe that if the other person doesn’t win, neither do you.

This moderate-to-high anabolic energy reconciles good and bad, right and wrong, so nothing is judged one way or the other. People with Level 5 energy view everything as an opportunity; they are genuinely excited by unplanned events as much as by planned ones, as they can handle and capitalise on whatever comes their way. The core thought is on reconciling or accepting differences, rather than trying to change them.

Individuals with Level 5 energy are curious, calm, powerful, entrepreneurial-minded, confident, and feel a sense of inner peace and fulfilment. They believe they can choose their own experiences and operate with less fear than those at lower levels, allowing them to enact radical change when needed.

Maintaining Level 5 energy is challenging for most leaders, especially in adverse situations. However, these experiences often provide powerful learning opportunities. It’s difficult to remember this in the moment.

Level 5 goes beyond simply putting a positive spin on circumstances. It involves actively scanning the environment for opportunities. Asking yourself what you are learning about yourself and others in challenging situations can help uncover new possibilities.

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Advantages of Level 5 Energy

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• You find opportunity in everything.

• Your curiosity and openness to many possibilities enable you to find solutions.

• You see others as gifted and full of potential, inspiring and empowering them.

 

Disadvantages of Level 5 Energy

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• You may see so many options that you have trouble deciding which one to take.

• You may take many risks, believing that whatever happens will work out well.

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Level 6 Energy

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• Core Thought: Synthesis

• Core Emotion: Joy

• Action/Result: Wisdom

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At Level 6, you feel connected to everyone and everything, without judgment of what comes your way. Each day begins with a smile, appreciating the sheer joy of being alive. You live in a state of awe and wonder, without needing to analyse or figure things out. At this energy level, life itself is an opportunity, and all experiences, even those considered "painful" or "bad" by others, are valued. By taking a long-term view of life, you find purpose in everything that happens. Level 6 energy is associated with acceptance, bringing a lasting sense of pleasure, satisfaction, and joy.

This high-to-very high anabolic energy is rooted in the core thought of synthesis, blending away the illusion of individuality to see the whole instead of just its parts. People with Level 6 energy see everyone and everything as part of themselves.

At this level, intuition thrives. Creative geniuses, visionaries, and conscious leaders in all fields tap into this energy to create new and exciting innovations for everyone's benefit. Level 6 is characterised by extreme engagement and presence, leading to high performance. The connection at this level can alter the perception of time, creating a sense of flow and ease, and a remarkable sense of joy. It is a rejuvenating and powerful state, far more effective than the lower levels.

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Advantages of Level 6 Energy

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• You experience a deep connection with everything and everyone.

• You live in a constant state of joy, awe, and wonder.

• Your intuition is heightened, feeling creativity and innovation.

• You find purpose and value in all experiences, regardless of their nature.

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Disadvantages of Level 6 Energy

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• You might struggle to relate to those operating at lower energy levels.

• Maintaining this high level of energy can be challenging in everyday, less-than-ideal circumstances.

• The sense of interconnectedness might make it difficult to set personal boundaries.

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Level 7 Energy

Core Thought: Non-judgment
Core Emotion: Absolute passion
Action/Result: Creation

Level 7 energy is the highest level of anabolic energy, characterised by completely objective thinking, non-judgment, and fearlessness. At this level, concepts of right and wrong, good and bad, or better and worse do not exist.

When you experience Level 7 energy, you access a "meta-view," allowing you to create, observe, and experience life simultaneously. This "detached involvement" enables you to perform at your best with a clarity of vision that is independent of any specific outcome. There is no fear, judgment, or concern, only absolute passion for all experiences. Focusing your full passion into each moment becomes its own reward. From this meta-view, life is simply fun.

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Advantages of Level 7 Energy

 

• Complete Objectivity: You think and act without judgment or fear.

• Passion for Life: You experience absolute passion in every moment.

• Creative Power: You have the ability to create, observe, and experience life simultaneously.

• Clarity of Vision: Your work is done with unmatched clarity and without attachment to outcomes.

• Joyful Living: Life feels fun and fulfilling.

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Disadvantages of Level 7 Energy

 

• Perceived Detachment: Others may find it hard to relate to your non-judgmental and fearless perspective.

• Lack of Concern for Outcomes: You might be seen as indifferent to specific results, which can be misunderstood by others focused on concrete goals.

 

People who access Level 7 energy experience genius and are capable of generating brilliant ideas seemingly from nothing. They perform exceptionally well, understanding that concepts like winning and losing are human constructs designed to guide our engagement in the game of life.

At Level 7, you have the ability to create your reality according to your desires, utilising any of the lower energy levels to manifest whatever you believe is possible. While no human consistently resonates entirely at this level, practicing and adhering to the COR.E Disciplines can help you learn to access it.

Level 7 elevates you to such heights that sustaining it continuously is unnecessary. By understanding what this level entails and how to tap into it, you can effectively harness its power during critical moments. The benefits of reaching Level 7 are profound and transformative.

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