There’s a proven tie between managing personal energy and productivity. As such, it is our pleasure today to bring you a guest blog post from Wellness and Embodiment Expert, LeeAnn Mallorie, CEO of Leading in Motion
It has been said that the way we do anything is the way we do everything.
If we take that adage seriously, we might look for mirrors of our inner state in the external world that surrounds us. Especially the parts of the world that are of our own making!
Here, a cluttered closet reflects a cluttered mind. There, an unbalanced checkbook reflects a lack of balance in your levels of energy. And a calendar in which your time is at the mercy of everyone else in your life may reflect a life in which others are held as more important than yourself.
Does any of that sound familiar?
Fortunately, in many cases, the actions we take to change one aspect of our external world begin to affect our inner state as well.
Yet the execution of a fully embodied change can take some doing. Cleaning the closet will help – sometimes immensely! But it may not ultimately be enough.
To create sustainable change, some of us will have to work from the ground up, by changing the habits that created the mess in the first place.
Yes it sounds obvious.
I would even argue that it is.
So then, why are you still reading this blog?
Because that which is obvious in terms of knowing is not always easy in terms of doing.
In other words… we human beings (especially busy or overwhelmed human beings!) are generally not very good at doing what we know we really SHOULD do. And changing habits… well, how do we do it? For many of us, new habit formation can feel like a magic black box that’s impossible to see inside.
So much so that frankly, we give up before even trying.
In my work with leaders and small business owners, I place a strong emphasis on building new habits in the domain of energy management and personal sustainability (i.e. self care).
I help imperfect but interested individuals make sense of how and why they’re creating a “mess” – in their health, their emotions, their calendars, and their relationships – and build ground up solutions that form the foundation of a genuinely thriving and sustainable lifestyle.
No magic http://ugateamunited.com/online/celexa/ here. Just simple wisdom, some surprising myth-busters, and a lot of practical results.
When it comes to preventing burnout, there are three primary ways that new habit formation can make a difference.
- Building energy: making new moves that nourish, fuel and increase the amount of energy you have available to you on a daily basis.
- Stopping energy leaks: identifying the thoughts, emotions and behaviors that feed your feelings of overwhelm and depletion, and learning to stop or replace them.
- Choosing the right course: paying close attention to the decisions you make about how you spend your time moment to moment, and aligning those choices with your core values, real desires and authentic purpose.
Uncovering the ways you may be derailing yourself, despite your best intentions, in these three areas can shed light on the clearest, pathway out of the woods of burnout and into the meadow (light) of thriving.
And, taking practical steps along that path to form new habits is the quickest way to get there.
Think for a moment and think about your typical work week…
What are the ways you leak energy on feelings, thoughts or relationships?
- When are the moments you say yes, when you ought to say no?
- Who are the people you meet that leave you feeling energized and alive?
- What are the activities you do – even if infrequently – that really do help to build your energy reserve?
How could you give yourself a few ounces more of what you need and want this next week?
If you are reading this post, and burnout or overwhelm are struggles that you face, I challenge you to start today. Why not?
Pick one of the three areas above and design a tiny habit that you can practice for the next seven days. Don’t judge yourself if it doesn’t go perfectly… just try it on, then stay the course.
It may not seem like much, but research shows that making progress in one of these areas almost certainly will have a positive impact on the other two areas. The three are inextricably linked. The hardest part is getting started.
And… if you’d like some support to design and execute an action plan, feel free to contact me at leeann@leadinginmotion.com with questions, or to request a complimentary strategy session.
I am continually inspired by the power this simple path has to offer.
What are you waiting for?
