More than ever, many of us are operating in survival mode rather than in our peak performance states. When we are surviving life happens to us. When we are thriving, WE create and drive our lives. Our current context has resulted in fluid, overlapping work/personal space on multiple levels across our lives leaving many of us fatigued, overstretched, and stressed.
For us to become more effective and sustain our performance, it is vital for us to reconsider one of our core operating principles which runs the way we do things. This operating principle is rooted in our relationship to time being the fundamental thing we need to manage better, rather than upgrading our operating principle to one that manages ENERGY.
One of the most powerful aha moments in my life, came when I realised that Managing ENERGY rather than time is what creates long term sustainable success and fulfilment. This subtle, yet profound shift, has enabled me, and many people we work with, to fundamentally adjust our orientation to our days, priorities, behaviour, and effectiveness. This critical adjustment is the key to sustained optimal performance, fulfilment, and endurance.
Time is finite, energy is RENEWABLE. So, it makes sense that creating an operating principle that increases our range and focuses on the skillful management of energy will result in increased performance, health and sustained fulfilment over time.
So how do we do this?
We build positive repeatable habits into our daily rhythm that ensure we switch between expending and recovering our energy regularly. Otherwise known as the principle of oscillation (The power of full engagement by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz). We know that balancing stress and recovery is critical to high performance, so the principle of oscillation enables us to move deliberately between expending and recovering energy in a way that creates the optimal conditions for consistently high and effective performance. Given that our energy capacity decreases with either overuse or underuse, it becomes critical to find the right balance between exerting and recovering energy. It is the movement between these two pillars that is important. Too much energy exertion, with minimal recovery and we find ourselves fatigued, frustrated and hyper tense. Whereas to little exertion, with too much recovery leaves us unstimulated, uninspired, and unproductive.
Finding the right balance enables us to perform optimally through building healthy, sustainable habits that enable us to pace and manage ourselves while navigating times of high pressure, complexity, and uncertainty.
For example, Rafael Nadal, one of the best tennis players of all time, is known for his quirky rituals between points and games. If we take a closer look, we will see that Nadal’s rituals are repeatable behaviours that anchor him in the moment, lower his heart rate, focus his mind, and help him manage his emotions during high pressure situations. Performing at the highest level whether in sport, life or business is about building effective habits that enable us to oscillate between exertion and recovery of energy-this is what separates world class players, people and leaders from those who also played.
So what are the ingredients of energy management and how do we practically apply them into our daily lives? There are four core components to energy management which cover physical, emotional, mental and spiritual capacities. We go into more detail in the next four posts and consider the interrelationship between these 4 pillars that create sustained endurance and success.
In the meantime, consider the following:
What energises me most?
What de-energises me most?
What small changes can I make today to improve my overall energy?
Written by Gavin Shaskolsy