The quantity of energy we have to spend at any given moment is a reflection of our physical capacity. Our motivation to spend what we have is largely a spiritual issue.

We define "spiritual" not in the religious sense, but rather in more simple and elemental terms: the connection to a deeply held set of values and to a purpose beyond our self-interest.

At the practical level, anything that ignites the human spirit serves to drive full engagement and to maximize performance in whatever mission we are on.

Expanding our spiritual energy requires subordinating our own needs to something beyond our self-interest.  The commitment to live according to our deepest values not only creates a more stable center in our lives but also helps us to better navigate the challenges we face along the way.

Viktor Frankl has written movingly about the power of spiritual capacity to transform even the most horrifying circumstances. Frankl was the psychologist who survived the Nazi concentration camps and went on to write the classic Man's Search for Meaning.  In it he quotes Nietzsche's famous words, "He who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how."  Frankl goes on to describe the way this insight helped to save his own life, even as others were dying around him: