Nobody moves through life with exactly the same amount of energy. Do you know how much you have to draw on? Do you know how to replenish your reserves? In chi gung, the energetic reserves you are born with are called your "pre-birth chi". What you cultivate as you go through life, using practices like chi gung, is called "post-birth chi". You use the combination of what you are born with and what you develop to run your body and your mind.

But the science of energy development (chi gung) is not just about how much juice you can put out in a short sprint. Work and rest are two sides of the same coin and chi gung will actually help you get better at resting as well. We don't usually pride ourselves on being good at resting, but wouldn't you like to feel more refreshed when you wake up in the morning? Or get over a cold in 1 day instead of 3? Or be ready to take on your next big creative project after a few weeks off instead of a few months? When you rest better, you can sprint again SOONER as well as FASTER.

So the next time you look around and see other people sprinting past you in life, don't strain to catch up to their speed. Instead, go deeper into your own work/rest cycle.