Thoughts, Words & Actions That Serve
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“This Is Just How It Is….”
I hear this from stressed out professionals all the time. On paper and to the casual observer these people are successful, but are they? Oftentimes, achievement-minded professionals have accepted that working 6, even 7 days a week is the cost of success. They’ve come to the conclusion that skipping meals, poor sleep, and reeling from constant pressure is simply how life and work are. They conclude that exhaustion and overwhelm are the costs of getting somewhere.
The truth is, ongoing overwhelm is not “just how it is.”
How it is mentality doesn’t serve the people I’ve described, and it doesn’t serve you. You and I can have big goals and still have drive, energy, fulfillment and an intact family and personal life. We can be productive and have impact without sacrificing health, dreams and relationships.
If the stressed out, just-how-it-is professional described sounds like you, take note. People who come my way to turn things around have reached a point where something either has shifted or must shift. Maybe a health issue has snapped them out of the get-through-the-day mode of operating. Some realize they've been going through the motions with family and friends but they haven’t really been present, not for some time. Others wake up one day at a new low, feeling depleted to the point that they know something has to change.
The problem usually isn't actually their workload. It's that they're running on empty, operating from a place of fear, resignation, or a draining combination of both overwhelm and underwhelm.
What will happen when you finally draw a line in the sand and take responsibility for your thoughts, words, choices, mindset and actions?
What will happen when you finally operate DIFFERENTLY?
I can tell you what happens. GOOD THINGS happen when you draw a line in the sand, say No More, and incorporate consistent small changes. Working harder when you're already frazzled and spending your days in ways you never intended is not a solution, and it’s not sustainable. Executives, senior leaders, and self-leaders across demographics who make substantive, lasting, positive changes focus on three areas:
—They develop an Executive ways of being and mindset. They take responsibility for their thoughts, words, choices, and actions — all of it. They operate from their strengths, and make decisions based on principles and what matters —not based simply on what feels urgent.
—They prioritize their health, peace and energy. They develop fitness practices that work for them, practices they can stick with. They also build-in, look forward to, and protect rest and recovery. They do this not because they're indulgent, but because they understand that excellence, impact and joie de vivre (joy in leaving) require habits and routines that serve us positively — they ACT in ways that serve themselves and others well.
—They design what for them would be a Perfect Week and a Minimum Viable Day. They create systems that support their health and goals rather than work against them. They cut through the noise to determine what has to happen daily for them to attend to their responsibilities and at the same time, feel accomplished, fulfilled and aligned.
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The goal of habits that serve us well, the goal of positive change, isn't perfection. The goal is clarity about what matters, energy and health to pursue what we want and holds MEANING for us, and confidence and alignment regarding our choices.
You don't have to hold or accept that life is one continuous struggle. The mentality that success requires exhaustion and get-me-through-this-day mindset isn't helping you achieve more—it's limiting what's possible for you.
Executives, leaders and self-leaders who break free from just-how-it-is patterns don't do it alone. They create systems and work with someone who understands that overwhelm, underwhelm, and burnout are not inevitable.
If you're ready to move beyond "this is just how it is" mode and create life and work that positively moves the needle and you, let's have a conversation. Know that the success you seek doesn't require sacrificing health, peace, connection or what matters.
You’ve got this friends — send your questions. Send your comments. Book a call or be in touch, and get to the task of turning things around via positive change.