Do you have some holiday get-togethers this season? If so, you will need to b.y.o.b., which is to Bring Your Own Batteries. It is difficult to be with a lot of people without having your own energy source. And beware of the person who is needy of your battery power.

Have you ever left a conversation with someone and felt completely exhausted? Do some encounters with certain people leave you feeling weak? If you started off in a good mood, and then felt worse after your encounter, it is possible that these people are energy eaters, though they do not understand that. Some folks don't come with their own batteries, so they have to get their power from others.

All of us need to get our batteries recharged from time to time. It's easy to get worn out when you have been overbooked, had a family crisis, traveled too much, or overdone the holidays. You can especially deplete your strength when you spend an unbalanced amount of time with people or situations that are toxic to you. Having momentary power outages is understandable. But having no batteries at all is a problem.

What are some of the things that you can do at this time of year to Bring Your Own Batteries to the party? Here are suggestions that might give you a shot in the arm:

Be your own best friend. Would you talk to your favorite person the way you talk to yourself? Listen to your inner voice. What do you say? Are you encouraging? Would you tell your best friend that their thighs are floppy and they have more than one chin? Start now to replace the inner critic with a new voice that is gentle, kind, and comforting. Remind yourself several times a day that you are a gorgeous, wonderful, incredibly talented human being.

Discover your creativity. Creativity is considered one of the most important survival strengths we have. When we are exercising our creativity, we are coming up with ideas that are original and useful. The process is invigorating. People are less creative when they work in a caustic environment. Judgment and criticism also extinguish the creative spark. Supportive, casual, open, and happy places allow creativity to flourish. So strive to put yourself in a nurturing place. When you have your creative juices flowing, you are recharging your batteries.

Protect your feelings. Do not let unaware people take over or dominate your space. They may not know what they are doing, but they will just keep doing it until you draw the line. This is costly and depletes your vigor. Be clear with others about how much you can and cannot give and make your limits known. Also, develop a place that is off-limits to the outside world where you can go to restore yourself.

Wherever you find yourself this holiday season, you want to be able to hold your own. The world is a b.y.o.b. (bring your own batteries) kind of a place. So, don't leave home without them.

Tonja Weimer

Tonja Evetts Weimer is a Master Certified singles relationship and life coach, speaker, syndicated columnist and author.

Tonja is a full time professional coach with a practice in Greenville, SC. She helps individuals, especially singles, re-craft their lives and find happiness and success in their career and relationships. Some of Tonja's professional activities include:

==> Syndicated singles relationship columnist, writing SAVVY DATING, a weekly column read by over a million readers in many U.S newspapers. Tonja's column addresses relationship and life issues of interest to all adults, but particularly to the over 110 million singles in the U.S. Tonja has also had articles published in New Woman, Hope, and House Beautiful magazines, and has won 3 Matrix Awards for her writing.

==> Motivational speaker, Tonja has been a keynote presenter at national and international conferences over the last 30 years.

==> Author of materials for educators and parents (7 books, six music albums and 2 videos), which have won 22 awards.

Some Speaking and Media Highlights:

==> Keynote speaker for 2004 Women’s Issues Network Conference, Sumter, SC.

==> Keynote speaker for 2002 Parents as Teachers International Conference, St. Louis, MO.

==> Keynote speaker for 1999 International Conference for Children & Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder.

==> Keynote speaker for 1998 European Education Conference, in Mannheim, Germany.

==> Keynote speaker in 35 U.S. states at educational conferences.

==> Presenter at the International Special Olympics in Notre Dame, at the request of Eunice Kennedy Shriver.

==> Created Space Songs for Children, at the request of NASA (album taken into space by astronauts three times.)

==> Appeared on CNN’s Showbiz Today and many other TV shows.

Educational and Professional Qualifications:

==> National Fellow (U.S. Dept. of Education.) M.A. in Human Development and Education, with an emphasis on creativity.

==> Master Certified Singles Relationship Coach, Relationship Coaching Institute.

==> Personal Life Coach, Graduate, Institute for Life Coach Training.

==> Member, International Coaching Federation