Written on the 15th of March 2010 by Janelle Nisbet
May the force be with you – How to maintain your energy just like the Duracell Bunny!
By
JANELLE NISBET
Managing Director
Progress Training Systems Pty Limited
www.progress.com.au
Why is it that some people can achieve consistent high level performance and seem to be able to fit so much into the day (work life and personal life) and others struggle to achieve even half of the things they intended to do?
According to Jim Loeher and Tony Schwartz authors of “The power of full engagement”
“Energy, not time is the fundamental currency of high performance”
They suggest without the right quantity, quality, focus and force of energy we are compromised in any activity we undertake. Personally, I agree.
If you could wake up tomorrow with more positive, focussed energy to invest at work and with your friends and family how significantly would that change your life for the better? If you could handle your daily challenges just like the Duracell bunny would life become a little easier?
That little bunny is totally energised and ready for the challenges ahead;
• Tough competition
• Hurdles
• A long race
In those ads, he shows us what can be achieved when we are fully energised!
So what is his secret????
Well, there is no secret; he gets through those challenges because he has all his batteries connected!
What’s in those batteries and how can we make sure our batteries are fully charged and balanced for the challenges we face each day?
To be fully energised we need to balance our physical energy, our emotional energy, our mental energy and our spiritual (being of service to others/my why to live) energy.
Let’s look at the principles around being fully energised.
#1 Acknowledge and Accept
To be fully energised we need to draw on 4 separate but related energy sources – physical, emotional, mental and the being of service/why to live energy.
All 4 energy dynamics are critical, none is sufficient by itself and each one influences the other.
Energy is the common denominator in all dimensions of our life. Our physical energy can be measures from high to low and out emotional energy from negative to positive.
It’s interesting that we hold ourselves accountable for the ways we manage our time and for that matter our money, work performance etc.
We must learn to hold ourselves at least equally accountable for how we manage our physical, emotional, mental and being of service/why to live/spiritual energy
. #2 Use and Renew
We rarely consider how much energy we are spending because we take it for granted that the energy available to us is limitless.
So, because energy capacity diminishes both with overuse and under use, yes under use! we must balance using our energy with renewing our energy.
The key is to learn to be fully connected in what we are doing and then fully disconnect for a period of time before jumping back into the next activity. Just make sure you build in recovery sessions after 90 to 120 minutes of energy use. This helps us as we use and renew our physical, emotional, mental and sense of service/spiritual energy throughout the day
#3 Stretch and Build
Just like a body builder trains regularly to build his/her muscle strength and bulk we too need to stretch and build our 4 energy levels.
We build emotional, mental and our sense of service/why to live energy in exactly the same way as physical energy – from empathy and patience to focus and creativity to integrity and commitment.
What applies to our body equally applies to the other dimensions of our lives.
We grow at all levels by using energy beyond our normal limits and then recovering. As my body builder son says, “When building muscles many people back off as soon as it starts to hurt”.
We just need to learn to build and strengthen muscles wherever our levels are insufficient.
Any form of stress that creates discomfort has the potential to stretch us – physically, mentally, emotionally and our sense of service/why to live (spiritually) – so long as it is followed by enough recovery.
#4 Simple Systems and Routines
We are all creatures of habit. Most of what we do is automatic and many of us don’t like change.
In order to build our sense of service/why to live energy we need to develop behaviours that become automatic over time and these behaviours need to be fuelled by your own personal reasons or purpose; the why to live factor.
We know through our BEST Training System programs that systems make life easier. Think about this…….
- if you are fit its probably because you have regular days and times of the week that you use for walking, working out, going to the gym etc
- If you are a successful sales person, you probably have a system (probably the BEST Selling System ☺) that you use for mental preparation, questions you ask, suggestions to your clients and closing skills. You may even have a system for coping with rejection; your resilience skills
- If you lead and manage people successfully you are likely to have a system for your communication style that helps your team feel challenged rather than threatened
- If you manage to maintain high energy levels despite an extremely demanding job you almost certainly maybe without realising it have developed ways of ensuring that you get intermittent recovery during your busy day
We like to work with a Formula for Failure. Sound pretty radical I know however it is really a very simple formula for success.
If you are serious about managing your energy more effectively lets look at what’s involved in order to be successful in this challenge
.
Firstly, our formula for failure looks at the three reasons why we fail. You see we will fail at anything we do if we:
1. Don’t know what we are doing or why we are doing it. The old WHAT and WHY. So, do you know what areas of your energy (physical, mental, emotional, sense of service/why to live) you need to make changes in? Are you clear on why you want to do this? Without CLARITY in these two areas you will not be successful in the changes you wish to make. Perhaps you need to write these answers down to help you get real clarity and understanding
2. We will fail if we don’t know HOW to do the things we want to do. Now let’s get real here. None of us are perfect. We all need to learn in order to grow. Learning hurts; it means doing something different to what we normally do. Learning means pushing ourselves out of our comfort zones in order to learn and grow. Are you ready to learn more about yourself? What about if it gets tough? Are you willing to persist with the discomfort and put into practice what you are learning? Remember the definition of insanity…..doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result! Learning hurts but it sure won’t kill you!
3. How do you cope when someone or something gets in the way of you being successful? You see it is your ability to respond to these situations that will cause you to fail or succeed.
So in order for you to be successful in the changes you wish to make in order to manage your energy a little better ensure you know the:
1. WHAT and WHY – have CLARITY
2. HOW continue to learn and grow
3. When SOMEONE or SOMETHING GETS IN THE WAY – take responsibility
Below are a few practical actions/behaviours/ideas for managing your energy
• Plan your day – to do lists
• Nourish your body with healthy food
• Drink more water
• Nourish your mind with books
• Stay around positive people
• Learn to let go of negative stuff just like ducks – shake away the negativity!
• Be in the moment – practice awareness
• Remember at any given time we have the power to choose. Do you want to respond to the situation or react? The choice is yours
• If you feel like watching a movie just sit and watch it and don’t beat yourself up because you should be doing the washing/mowing the lawns
• Be realistic about what you can achieve in a day
• Build in recovery time after 90-120 minutes of focused concentration
• Go for a walk a lunch time
• Arrange a “play day” every few weeks
• Have regular weekends of me time
• Enjoy a facial
• Find a hobby
• Have a long warm bath with candles, and nice music
• Learn when you have the most energy (morning or afternoon) and do your tasks that require a great deal of concentration then
• Laugh
• Look for the joy in everything
• Say thank you often
• Smile at a stranger
• Hold the door open for someone
• When someone lets you in in the traffic raise your hand to say thank you
• Listen to children laughing
• Listen to the birds
• Enjoy the feeling of sunshine on your skin
• Run intelligent meetings at work so you don’t waste your precious time
• Consciously switch off from work when you get home and enjoy being alone/with family.
• Wash the day down the drain when you have a shower
• Make a list of things you need to do tomorrow and then forget about them until tomorrow
• Be organised
• Breathe when you are dealing with challenging people and tasks
• Go to the gym/ plan a yoga class just for you
• Walk for 15 minutes in the morning and say hello to a stranger
• Love your family unconditionally
• Look for the good in your children and tell them how proud you are of them
• Cuddle your grandkids
• Sit back and make a list of all the things you are grateful for
• Be proud of who you are and the memories you will leave with people when you leave this planet
• Be kind
• If you are stuck in traffic listen to your favourite music or radio station and sing out loud!
• Manage your diary entries with discipline and flexibility “my next available appointment is….”
Energy management is a learned skill, just like driving a car, playing golf, dancing or learning a new job.
It’s about understanding the 4 sources of energy, using energy and then renewing it, stretching ourselves in all energy areas and building your capacity with routines and systems.
Keep it simple and realistic with practical actions, behaviours and ideas
And let’s remember what Betty Ford said….”Don’t compromise yourself. You are all you’ve got!
Janelle Nisbet speaks on
Creating, Coaching and LeadingHigh performance teams
at conferences, seminars and workshops.
For information on her speaking topics and BEST® training programs,
contact her at
Email:janelle@progress.com.au
Or call her on 02 9527 2280 or 0411 358 333
