Let me remind you that it is a busy time of year and with that increased activity comes stress and lack of sleep and all sorts of unhealthy behavior. You feel it, your family feels it and I feel it.
I want you to remember that, for the most part, these are external forces of stress and you get to choose how you respond. I’ll give you a couple quick ideas.
First, channel your inner Zen master and let the stress wash over you – don’t struggle in the current – roll with it and keep swimming. Take this as an opportunity to learn some simple breathing, relaxation an meditation techniques, (there are plenty of examples out there online), have them in your back pocket ready for when you need them.
We get storms this time of year in New England. When Buddy and I run the trails after storms we see the trees and branches that have been broken down. The trees that fare the worst are the Oaks. And this is surprising because the oak is the strongest wood. Oaks are the strongest trees and they fight the wind instead of accepting it and moving with it. Because the oak fights the storm it loses. The pines and soft woods sway and flex in the storms and don’t sustain as much damage. They bend, but they don’t break.
Secondly, you can’t control the external forces of stress, but you can control how you respond, so take a moment each morning when you wake up hunted and tired, your work from yesterday still undone, not enough sleep for a couple weeks in a row, commitments piled high in the road in front of you like angry dragons, and…don’t get weird – take a moment and smile, assume a positive outlook, assume an attitude of abundance, take a deep breath, marshal your flagging forces and prepare to attack.
The best way out is through and the best way through is with vigor. Choose to go forward with aplomb. Don’t let the bastards beat you down. Your co-workers, friends and family need you, be the leader, be the beacon, if not for yourself then for the rest of us.
And finally, not everything needs to get done right now. It’s OK to let some things slip. Do a good job of prioritizing and choose what you are going to do well. Put the other stuff aside. If you try to do everything, you will just do everything poorly. If we have learned anything in the five years we’ve been talking it is that successful people choose wisely and prioritize their time for greatest impact.
Feel better? Good! I’m still sleep derived, jet-lagged and drowning under a sea of self created work! Did I mention I’m also sore?
But, I’ll still see you out there,
Chris,