How to Stay Mentally Fit

How to Stay Mentally Fit

Leaders love to see progress. But growth brings a whole new set of problems. You may find yourself stuck in reaction mode, feeling more like a fireman than a leader. Dealing with problems all day can drain your mental energy. After awhile, you may have no bandwidth left for vision and strategy.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bouncing Back After Burnout

Image
Real Stories from Leaders Like You The intentions are noble: You want to buy a house with a backyard for your kids, pay off debt, or do something to actually justify the $50,000 worth of student loans that feels like a noose around your neck. You vow to work harder than everyone else on your team, to be the first one in and the last one to leave. Every new opportunity is a chance to showcase your talents, your leadership skills, your ability to thrive under pressure. You say “yes.” To everything. In fact, you’ve forgotten how to say “no.” But you can’t do enough, be enough, earn enough, fast enough, and even as you devise a way to keep your head above water (barely), the things that matter most—your relationships with family and friends; your physical, mental, and spiritual health—spiral helplessly out of control. The “whys” don’t matter anymore—you work too much to enjoy the new house, or the extra cash in your pocket now that you’re debt-free. All you can see is a list of to-do...
Read more

Sacred Bow: An Intentional Way to Close Out the Year & Start the New Year

By Leo Babauta We’re entering the last month of the year, and it can be a crazy, shopping-filled, party spree of a month for many people. Or it can be a simpler, more mindful period of closing out the year and getting ready for the coming year. I’d like to invite you to a monthlong process that I’m calling Sacred Bow: An Intentional Way to Close Out the Year & Start the New Year. What will this process be? Here’s how I envision Sacred Bow: Review : Spend the first week reviewing your year so far, noting your accomplishments and big events, taking notes on what you’ve learned and what you’ve struggled with, seeing where you’ve dropped the ball and where you could grow. Let Go : Reflect on what you’d like to let go of moving forward, what you’ve been holding onto that’s not serving you. This is a releasing of baggage and struggles. Spend a few days practicing letting go, so that we can be clear for the new year. Set Intentions for the Next Year : What loving and purposeful in...
Read more

Selling Your Vision When You’re Not in Charge

Image
I once worked for a boss who lacked vision. I should say he lacked a single vision because he changed direction frequently. The team never knew what flavor-of-the-month program was coming next. It was frustrating! Ever the activator, I was determined to build momentum in my department even if my division was stuck in neutral. I would bring my boss requests, complete with the necessary supporting information. Invariably, he would ask me to rerun the numbers. When I came back, he would want it rerun again, and again. By the time he approved it, the opportunity was lost, and he would blame me for missing it. Infuriating as that was, it taught me important lessons about an invaluable leadership skill: selling your vision when you’re not in charge. Whether your company has a strong vision or not, as a leader you should have a vision for your own area of responsibility. At some point, you’ll have to sell that vision up the line, to a director, C-level officer, or even the board of direc...
Read more