Personal Power Outage – How to Avoid It
By Terry L. Brock
This past week we saw the power go out in much of the Eastern United States. I was in Michigan and experienced some of it. The small country town where I was experienced 30 seconds of no power but then it roared back on only to provide television coverage of the blackout around the country.
Personal Power Outage
What can you do to avoid a personal power outage? Without the energy and drive to maintain your personal stamina and health, your business will surely suffer.
You need to have lots of energy to succeed in today’s highly competitive world. James Loehr and Tony Schwartz discuss this in their new book, The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal. In that work they cite numerous examples of how, what they call “corporate athletes” perform better when applying the principles of professional athletes. One of the key principles is to think like a sprinter, not a marathon runner. Go in spurts and have plenty of renewal and refreshing time in between to rebuild. Push hard and fast for a limited period of time and have abundant, healing times in between to rejuvenate.
You have to create lots of ways to rejuvenate your power. Life is a regular drain on our resources in many ways. You have demands at work. You have demands at home. You have demands in many areas of your life and all these demands create a strain on your personal resources and ability to respond optimally. It is vital to renew yourself regularly and in a smart way to not only remain competitive but to thrive in today’s world.
Here are some key ways to avoid a personal power outage:
1. Devote resources to maintaining your optimal energy levels. What is more important than your physical and mental health? I can’t think of anything. If you don’t have your health, you can’t operate fully in business, with your family, in your personal goals, in your chosen spiritual area or other areas. Devote the time, money and effort to maintaining optimal physical and mental health.
2. Take time to renew yourself. Quiet thinking and relaxation are vital components in the self-renewal business. Yes, this means taking that vacation (sorry, workaholics. You really do better after a break!). It also means taking many mini-vacations or an extended weekend, a special evening, even a longer lunch.
3. Have a mission bigger than yourself. We have to have something bigger than ourselves to keep us going. What is the overall purpose of why you’re doing what you’re doing? What is it that keeps you going? Find that mission and keep it always in mind.
4. Renew yourself mentally reading a book a week. Many professionals find that a book a week stimulates their mind and helps to add fresh, new resources to their capacity. It is also a part of renewal as you learn about different areas of life. Don’t just read from your chosen field. Read from a variety of areas to see life from the perspective of others. Remember that fresh unusual ideas (the kind that help you succeed in today’s world!) usually come from different sources than those to which you normally exposed.
5. Have spiritual (value-based) ways to renew your energy and drive. Nathaniel Brandon defines spiritual as the values that we hold dear. Each person is unique so you have to find what it is that works for you. These spiritual values will help you create meaning and be the person you want to be.
6. Work hard when working, rest well when resting. Whatever you’re doing, do that activity well and without hesitation. Be in the moment and focus. I love the way my hero, Andrew Carnegie said it, “Work hard, play hard, sleep well.” Good philosophy!
7. Keep renewing as long as you’re alive. This is a life-long process. Build renewal and regeneration into your lifestyle. As your needs change throughout life, you’ll want to try alternate forms of renewal and rejuvenation. You can push for a short period of time, but you have to have times of refreshing and renewal.
We were made acutely aware of the importance of energy during the past power outage. Successful people learn from those kinds of experiences that we have to have backups and renewal plans in place. This creates winners and it will sustain you through what is to come in the future.
Terry Brock is an internationally recognized professional speaker, consultant and author in the fields of business productivity, technology and marketing. He is a syndicated Columnist for Biz Journals across America and can be reached at 407-363-0505 , by e-mail at terry@terrybrock.com or through his website at www.terrybrock.com
Copyright © 2003, Terry Brock, All Rights Reserved Internationally. No portion may be reprinted or used in any way without prior written permission. Permission granted to Biz Journals to use in regular publication.
By Terry L. Brock
This past week we saw the power go out in much of the Eastern United States. I was in Michigan and experienced some of it. The small country town where I was experienced 30 seconds of no power but then it roared back on only to provide television coverage of the blackout around the country.
Personal Power Outage
What can you do to avoid a personal power outage? Without the energy and drive to maintain your personal stamina and health, your business will surely suffer.
You need to have lots of energy to succeed in today’s highly competitive world. James Loehr and Tony Schwartz discuss this in their new book, The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal. In that work they cite numerous examples of how, what they call “corporate athletes” perform better when applying the principles of professional athletes. One of the key principles is to think like a sprinter, not a marathon runner. Go in spurts and have plenty of renewal and refreshing time in between to rebuild. Push hard and fast for a limited period of time and have abundant, healing times in between to rejuvenate.
You have to create lots of ways to rejuvenate your power. Life is a regular drain on our resources in many ways. You have demands at work. You have demands at home. You have demands in many areas of your life and all these demands create a strain on your personal resources and ability to respond optimally. It is vital to renew yourself regularly and in a smart way to not only remain competitive but to thrive in today’s world.
Here are some key ways to avoid a personal power outage:
1. Devote resources to maintaining your optimal energy levels. What is more important than your physical and mental health? I can’t think of anything. If you don’t have your health, you can’t operate fully in business, with your family, in your personal goals, in your chosen spiritual area or other areas. Devote the time, money and effort to maintaining optimal physical and mental health.
2. Take time to renew yourself. Quiet thinking and relaxation are vital components in the self-renewal business. Yes, this means taking that vacation (sorry, workaholics. You really do better after a break!). It also means taking many mini-vacations or an extended weekend, a special evening, even a longer lunch.
3. Have a mission bigger than yourself. We have to have something bigger than ourselves to keep us going. What is the overall purpose of why you’re doing what you’re doing? What is it that keeps you going? Find that mission and keep it always in mind.
4. Renew yourself mentally reading a book a week. Many professionals find that a book a week stimulates their mind and helps to add fresh, new resources to their capacity. It is also a part of renewal as you learn about different areas of life. Don’t just read from your chosen field. Read from a variety of areas to see life from the perspective of others. Remember that fresh unusual ideas (the kind that help you succeed in today’s world!) usually come from different sources than those to which you normally exposed.
5. Have spiritual (value-based) ways to renew your energy and drive. Nathaniel Brandon defines spiritual as the values that we hold dear. Each person is unique so you have to find what it is that works for you. These spiritual values will help you create meaning and be the person you want to be.
6. Work hard when working, rest well when resting. Whatever you’re doing, do that activity well and without hesitation. Be in the moment and focus. I love the way my hero, Andrew Carnegie said it, “Work hard, play hard, sleep well.” Good philosophy!
7. Keep renewing as long as you’re alive. This is a life-long process. Build renewal and regeneration into your lifestyle. As your needs change throughout life, you’ll want to try alternate forms of renewal and rejuvenation. You can push for a short period of time, but you have to have times of refreshing and renewal.
We were made acutely aware of the importance of energy during the past power outage. Successful people learn from those kinds of experiences that we have to have backups and renewal plans in place. This creates winners and it will sustain you through what is to come in the future.
Terry Brock is an internationally recognized professional speaker, consultant and author in the fields of business productivity, technology and marketing. He is a syndicated Columnist for Biz Journals across America and can be reached at 407-363-0505 , by e-mail at terry@terrybrock.com or through his website at www.terrybrock.com
Copyright © 2003, Terry Brock, All Rights Reserved Internationally. No portion may be reprinted or used in any way without prior written permission. Permission granted to Biz Journals to use in regular publication.
posted by Terry Brock @ Wednesday, August 20, 2003
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