- You are the most important person in your life.
As the person most vested in your life, why not take better care of it? If you are in good mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual shape, you are in an excellent position to take on any job or challenge you choose, as well as taking care of the needs and wants of those who depend on you.
Rules:
• Make yourself Priority One. • Conduct periodic self-assessments. • Maintain a positive attitude. • Plan and set goals and timelines. • Keep your options open. • Fall in love with learning.
Key Points:
1. Get into the mind-set of taking care of yourself. 2. Help others. 3. Conduct a self-assessment. 4. Take full advantage of your downtime. 5. Don’t be stupid.
Discussion
- Get into the mind-set of taking care of yourself.
It’s important to be sensitive to those circumstances in our lives that generate stress and drain our positive energy. As we become more successful in our profession, our level and scope of responsibility increase appreciably; so also can the negative aspects of stress. Insomnia, weight gain, medication abuse, smoking, and excessive alcohol consumption are all stress factors exacerbated by additional stress events or situations. It is only a matter of time before these negative conditions have a damaging impact on your performance, especially when work-related or family stresses come into play. Long-term work peaks demand additional energy and clear thinking to preclude personal burnout. Knowing when to back off, take a break, or make changes is critical to avoiding accidents, incorrect guidance or instructions, lack of attention to detail, or a drop in quality and customer satisfaction. Ignorance is not bliss; doing nothing will lead to mistakes, ineffective leadership and management, and ultimately failure. Add some structure to your workday and week. Identify a specific day and time for staff meetings, program reviews, customer contacts, team-building sessions, continuous-improvement initiatives, walkabouts, and visits to the exercise room or gym for some personal de-stressing. Block off a period each day when you shut your door, put your feet up, and let your mind relax. The primary purpose is to allow your mind to relax from all the activities of the day. However, there are times when such activities are so pressing that they do not allow a mental break. In this case, use personal downtimes to revisit various conversations, guidance, resource allocations, customer feedback, etc. Allow your mind and creative juices to flow without interruption. Do what you can to face issues and challenges in a positive frame of mind. Not only does it help you, but it also helps those working for you. Maintain a friendly approach. An open-door policy builds confidence in your leadership. Play nicely with others, even those you do not trust. Do organizational walkabouts. Walk the floors, observe, and talk to people at unscheduled intervals. Take outdoor walks, as they stimulate your mind and body. Ŝ Bounce ideas, approaches, and decisions off someone you trust who will not publicize your thoughts or plans. Unless there is a deadline that requires you to take work home, leave the briefcase, laptop, and work-related materials at the office. Too often, we get into the habit of taking the office and all the little stresses that go with it home, which reduces the amount of downtime we get to regenerate. By leaving work at work, we also help our loved ones, as they want, need, and deserve our full attention at the end of the day.
- Help others
Although it is tempting to ask people to keep their family problems at home, today’s challenges make this an almost impossible task. Doing what we can to help individuals with such problems will help keep the individuals focused on the requirements of their job. This in turn will hopefully eliminate quality and safety problems that could impact organizational performance and our ability to provide a safe work environment. Adding flexibility to an employee’s work schedule or allowing someone to take unscheduled time off can do wonders to improve morale, respect for management, and overall organizational performance. 3.Conduct a self-assessment.
- Conduct a self-assessment.
Assess your own mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being on a regular basis. A good starting point for any self-assessment is to look at where you are today, where you want to be later, and when you want to be there. Identify those things you can start doing now to achieve your ultimate goal:
Mental well-being
Keep issues simple and more solvable through a combination of positive attitude and constructive resolution. ■ Be attentive to hot buttons that historically raise your blood pressure. This helps in developing countermeasures. Recognize that, while there are many issues over which we have little influence or control, the stress that’s generated is still a waste of energy. ■ Make an effort to do the following each day: • Like yourself; understand your strengths and limitations. • Refrain from belittling yourself. • Be flexible and open to change or new approaches • Let yourself grow intellectually, professionally, and spiritually. • Be kind to yourself and others. • Learn to relax; do things you enjoy. • Reduce anxiety and stress by forgiving people who hurt you. Become more knowledgeable of mental health indicators that suggest the need for professional help.
Physical well-being
There is no substitute for good health. Just ask those with medical challenges. ■ Eat healthily. So much information is being published today that identifies which foods will do what, which to eat more of, and which to avoid, especially if you have various health issues. ■ Exercise or find a sport that you enjoy doing. ■ Listen to your body and your doctor. ■ Get six or more hours of quality sleep each night. Taking naps is also good for your health (although not during work hours!). ■ Be sensitive to your body’s medical indicators that can signal potential physical conditions. ■ Comply with your doctor’s instructions and advice or find another doctor. Similar to other sciences, medical science is continually being updated, and finding a more current medical professional may be appropriate. ■ Recognize the side effects of abusing legal drugs, taking illegal drugs, or drinking excessively, reduce alcohol consumption, drug usage, smoking, and overeating before they become an acute problem. Seek help before the need becomes apparent. A good clue that professional help is warranted is when friends and loved ones change the way and frequency they communicate with you. Take pride in your personal and professional appearance. It can do wonders for your physical and mental well-being. Reducing excess weight is one of the most beneficial things we can do for ourselves. Once the weight starts coming off, we feel even greater motivation and self-esteem.
Emotional well-being
Spend more quality time with those you care about. ■ Take a good look at your personal relationships and identify actions you can take to make them better. Is it a matter of being more respectful, kinder or more attentive? Could you be more flexible or willing to compromise? ■ Do you invite your family’s input in your personal and professional plans?
Spiritual well-being
For those who practice it, religion provides a positive life-enhancing experience that strengthens state of mind, relationships, and value system. ■ Spiritual practices offer a sense of fulfillment that can reduce life’s many stresses. They provide inner strength and calm that help individuals get through the most difficult, challenging, and significant emotional events. ■ Religion provides a framework for moral behavior and decision-making. It helps to put various challenges into an ethical context so as to determine the right or wrong approach to resolving a problem or personal issue. It allows us to operate at a higher level of principled behavior. ■ For individuals who were raised in a religious environment, a break in participation can produce an emotional void. Religious involvement often provides a haven during tough times at work or within the family. ■ Religion can fill a void for those seeking inner peace. It offers a clear alternative to all the negativity and pain in the world today. ■ Trying out or returning to religious participation can help us rediscover and expand the good within ourselves. For Christians, reading the Bible to rekindle our knowledge of its core message can help rebuild our spiritual well-being. ■ For those individuals who were never exposed to a positive religious experience, numerous opportunities exist today in local churches, synagogues, TV, and the internet. Initiating communications with a minister, priest, or rabbi may lead to a very positive and enjoyable intellectual journey.
- Take full advantage of your downtime
Whether you prefer physical activities, such as hiking, biking, or running; intellectually stimulating lectures or art exhibits; or pursuits to satisfy your emotional or spiritual wellbeing, opportunities abound. Helping others grow mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually provides us with a tremendous sense of accomplishment and self-worth.
- Don’t be stupid
No one knows your current mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual state better than you. However, there may be issues that others can see more clearly. Similar observations made by multiple colleagues and loved ones offer a strong indicator that action is warranted. Why not fix those things in your life that require attention? If you need professional help, seek it. If you need support from loved ones, ask for it. The bottom line is to get off dead center and do something about it. No one is saying it will be easy. However, if everyone is noticing a problem, it’s time to address it. Don’t be stupid. The longer you delay, the harder it will be and the longer it will take to return to your 100 percent level. Make small changes, celebrate your successes, and move on to the next thing. Start today.
This strategy is focused on you, on us. We are the ones who set the tone for quality products and service. We are the ones who push the envelope for innovation, ethical conduct, professionalism, teamwork, and superb customer satisfaction. It is up to us to pull everything together and make it work. We are also the ones who must take action against those whose behavior is either unethical or unprofessional. It is, therefore, critical that we keep ourselves in good mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual shape so that we can provide the leadership necessary to take the organization to the next level of performance and turn it into a world-class operation. Too many times I have seen individuals with great potential and promise bypassed for promotion or more responsible assignments because of their unwillingness to resolve personal challenges. Such decisions should represent a wake-up call for repositioning ourselves for the future by eliminating personal distractions.