Digging In

Did you ever feel like you gave everything you had to give – to a project, to your workday, to your kids or your partner…?  And then, even with all that you gave, there’s a demand for more?

It happens.  Sometimes we give our all.  Sometimes, after giving our all, we’re asked to give even more.  In a recent all-hands meeting that I attended, the CEO opened the meeting by talking about, “digging in.”  

And that’s what it takes to get to your next level.  

Here’s the thing - you’re doing great!  That’s what’s brought you here.  Doing even greater requires you to find that extra, to push that bit more, and in building on last week’s Wednesdays With Wayne, to really be deliberate about your actions during the day.

How do we find what it takes to be that bit better? 

Where does that kind of energy come from?  

A half-marathon is a race that requires you to run just over 13 miles straight.  You and 20,000 of your closest friends get up at some unreasonable hour in the morning and set out to get through a set finish line.  The hard-core folks decide to double it.  I don’t know why we do that.  Yet, having run a few, I can tell you that at the 9thmile (of 13.1), it’s not uncommon to feel kind of “done.”  And that’s when “digging in” kicks in.  It’s all mental at that point.  It’s all about your perception and your ability to be deliberate about calling forth the energy it takes.  Personally, I remind myself that I’ve had a nine-mile warm up and that I can do a four-mile race.  It’s doable.  That extra.  It’s there.

It’s 5am and your alarm goes off.  Do you exercise or hit snooze?

It’s 4pm at the end of the week.  Do you pack it up or bring your best to that last client, make one more call, or write one more note?  

It’s after 6pm and you find yourself at home.  You’ve given at work and your family needs you.  Do you snarl and push them away or do you shift and realize that you’re in a different place with different people who need you?

Digging in to get it done:

What’s required is not starting fresh, but rather refreshing your perspective.  It’s a mental shift that’s about approaching that next demand with a new mindset.  And, it’s about energy management – being fully vital and alive after you’ve given all you have to give.

How?  

First, take a step back (mentally and perhaps even physically).  Change your perspective.  Act as if you were starting anew, not as if you’ve given it all already.  At the ninth mile, I don’t say… “ughhh, I’ve already given all I have.”  I look ahead and tell myself, “okay, I’ve done a four-mile run before.  I can do that now.”

When I come home after traveling across the country and having changed time-zones multiple times, I don’t say, “ugh… they just need to….”  I say, “okay, now that I’m home, what and how do they need me to be?”

I’m not saying that the goal is to run your life on fumes.  That’s the formula for burn-out (and I’ve talked about that in previous blog posts).   It could be that in order to dig in, in order to give that next round of energy that’s needed to your work, to your family, to your sport, etc., that you take a moment to recharge.

So first, refresh your perspective. Get CLEAR about who you are and what’s required of you.  Look at the what’s really needed in the situation in front of you.  

Next, MANAGE YOUR ENERGY by refreshing your energy stores.

That might mean getting some water, closing your eyes for three minutes or even taking a nap, stretching, breathing more deeply, or any number of other ways to revitalize.

And then step in with love.  Whatever you’re facing deserves your best-self, not the person you were an hour ago or even five minutes ago.

The two areas noted above (Clarity and Vitality) are among the key concepts that high performers know, have practiced, and have integrated as a way of life.  If you’ve ever seen someone who looks like they’re having fun all the time and yet you know that they’re on the go all the time, it’s because they’re practice key components of High Performance.  

(It’s what the DynamicLeader® Program is all about.)  

Live with vitality so you can really make your difference!

What’s ahead of you today?  Really as you read this, it’s morning, it’s afternoon, or it’s evening.  So, what’s left today?  What’s needed of you?  Where do you need to dig in and get really present?  YOU are needed… the whole you, not the distracted, depleted you.  YOU, the vital you, the joyful you, the magical “I’ve got this” you.  

Yeah!  Be that!

Get clear; take care of your psychology.  Step in by attending to your physiology.  And you’re on your way to truly making a difference.

Do you have this?  You KNOW you do!  

Rock it and keep making your magic™!

You ARE a DynamicLeader® – at home, at work, and in the world!