If we drive at something with relentless focus, we need to balance that out with a detachment, rest and relaxation of the mind, body and soul.
- G-dog -
Right or wrong, I push myself harder than I probably should in the pursuit of positive results; it's always been that way. I want to do things well and better than they were done before.
Perfection doesn't exist, but the continual-improvement paradigm does and that's what I seek as results and in myself personally. I take ownership, show responsibility and discipline and drive myself harder than any one else could and its worked well despite taking a toll on my emotional, physical and mental state of being...and that's a slippery slope if not taken care of.
I need to embrace and apply concepts that keep me in good shape
Fortunately, just as I understand the concepts, systems and procedures that lead me to greater results, I understand that I need to embrace and apply concepts that keep me in good shape in those three areas above; without them being in good shape a person doesn't really have much to work with and goals are more difficult to reach.
Throughout my professional career(s) I've mostly been in leadership roles of some sort be it at the the pointy end or the middle area.
No matter the position though, leadership is the same thing and I've tended to lead by example. I've never asked my teams/team members to do things I haven't done myself, or that which I wouldn't do, and I've personally maintained good attitudes and effort even in times when I might not have felt like it. I have worked harder than the team, slept less, carried more, trained harder, planned more diligently, taken on more responsibility, accepted the liability so they didn't have to and generally demonstrated the willingness to support them at all costs, even my own.
A person simply can't run at one hundred percent without pausing for rest, recharge, relaxation.
Naturally, going to those lengths wears a person down and despite thriving on the action and activity, little by little the energy drains away...this, even despite the thoughts and attitudes being in the right place. It's unavoidable; a person simply can't run at one hundred percent without pausing for rest, recharge, relaxation...whatever you want to call it. One must detach, find a gap and reset.
I've had one of those days weeks months at work.
I'm closing in on the end of my annual budget year and despite my results being ok, they're not as good as I would like, and so I've been burning the candle at both ends.
During the day I've been at work having meetings with clients and internally, making calls, writing emails and working on pricing. In the evenings I've been researching, completing proposals and other documentation and doing my administrative work on my client relationship management (CRM) software. I don't count the hours, but I've been sleeping less and taking less care of myself emotionally, physically and mentally and...it's fucken bonkers.
Driving myself so carelessly hasn't worked out so well
I'm always banging on about the importance of rest and relaxation, recovering from stress and pressure and the relentless operational tempo I've put myself and teams under; they did what they did because I enforced a detach and rest policy. I applied it to myself also, to good effect, but lately I've completely ignored it and have paid a price. I'll not go into it, but driving myself so carelessly hasn't worked out so well for me and over the last few days I've had a rethink and made some really good decisions to help mitigate the fallout and prevent myself getting into this situation again.
I like focus and have the ability to be intensely focused upon things which has brought great results, but there's a line once can cross and it's often unhealthy to do so. Our minds and bodies are a good measure of where that line is; for some the line is a little more distant than for others but it always exists. To step over it and push on may seem productive, but it's often going to end badly without some other factors and elements coming in to play. Over that line is where burnout lies and burnout isn't productive.
In the last few days I realised I was over the line and that caused me to stop and think.
My think-break lasted a day or so and I came back with a brand new plan, one I'm familiar with but had allowed to sit on the bottom of the to-do-list for far too long. Just that thought, the understanding around the concept of taking care of myself, made me feel better, a little lighter, and I got back into things with renewed energy.
No human being can drive at a thing in a completely straight line, no matter how hard they try. We can move in the right general direction though, and despite getting off course now and then, getting wobbly, a little bump or nudge and we're back heading towards the goal. I guess the key is to realise when that bump is required and what form the bump takes...The detachment, rest and relaxation.
I think it's all about balance
If we drive at something with relentless focus, we need to balance that out with a detachment, rest and relaxation of the mind, body and soul. It's something I have instilled in my teams and have actively enforced...sometimes I forget my own rules though, for a time at least.
What have your experiences been with focus and driving towards a goal? How is it you sustain momentum, the right thoughts and attitudes and, more importantly, how do you monitor yourself and recognise that it's time to detach and find a centre-point so you can push on harder once again? How do you know when to feed your emotional and mental needs and to work on your physical needs, and how do you do it? Feel free to comment below, I'm really interested in what works for you, and what hasn't.
Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default; tomorrow isn't promised so be humble and kind - galenkp
[All original and proudly AI free.]
Any images in this post are my own.