THE 70/20/10% HIGH PRIORITY 3 H’s TO ACHIEVE A MEANINGFUL LIFE

1. INTRODUCTION

In the turbulent and ruthless world that we currently live in, it's increasingly more challenging to stay resilient, focused and optimistic. Upon introspection, reflection and projection, I've decided that my life's mantra going forward is to apply the 3 H's as the relative, core priorities - Health (70%); Happiness (20%) and Hope (10%) - to achieve a more meaningful life. In my opinion, these core priorities define the currency of life wealth, prosperity and longevity. Please refer to the below image.

In the spirit of holistic development, I've committed to apply the principles of this mantra in both my personal and professional capacities.?

2. HEALTH

Our health is the #1 priority - without good health, nothing else is possible, nothing else matters and nothing else is relevant. It's not just our physical health that we should concentrate on, but also our mental health, emotional and psychological well-being.

We have been conditioned that physical health requires regular exercise; nutritional eating habits and avoiding toxic substances and dysfunctional lifestyles choices. Moderation and not fixation is required to maintain healthy daily habits. ?

This seems quite straightforward and doesn’t require excessive levels of discipline and commitment. However, far more complex and taxing is our emotional and mental well-being. Emotional resilience; emotional literacy (maturity) and having the right mindset (Zen) are core competencies.

?2.1????Emotional resilience?

Resilience is often defined as the ability to bounce back when confronted with adversity. Refer to the adjacent quotation, which amplifies the significant power and value thereof.

2.2????Emotional Literacy (Cotter’s 4I’s of Emotional Maturity, 2020)

The Emotional Maturity equation = Reflective Intelligence (RI) + Adaptive Mindset (AM) + Emotional Resilience (ER) + Hyperconnected Collaboration (HC). Refer to the adjacent image.?

2.3 The right mindsets (Zen)

?To maintain your mental well-being, I would recommend the following mindsets:

• ?Abundance (as opposed to scarcity)
• Growth (as opposed to fixed)
• Investment (as opposed to cost)

Where these three mindsets intersect, the synergy is what I refer to as a Zen mindset.

3.??HAPPINESS

3.1???????The Happiness Code

The source of life happiness and joy is unique and distinctive to each individual. We all have a different Happiness Code with a personalized set of digits. Nobody else can decipher and/or crack your Happiness Code.

"You are the locksmith to your own life's joy."

?The six (6) primary sources of my personal and professional happiness are:

• ?Performing work that I'm passionate about;
• Recognition and appreciation for this work;
• Work autonomy and freedom of association;
• Empowering like-minded individuals to achieve life success;
• Meaningful and loving relationships with family, friends and colleagues and
• My children leading fulfilled and wholesome lives.

3.2???????Eustress zone

Stress is often the conspirator of our happiness. We should strive for and maintain moderate levels of stress – this eustress zone is the optimal parameter which leads to higher levels of productivity; improved efficiency; constructive behaviour and meaningful and enriching relationships.

"Let the eustress zone be your playful sandpit of happiness."

We need to constantly seek out joy in our lives. We need to stop fixating on money to make us happy. Financial rewards will be a by-product of the flow state that we achieve when prioritizing (in the right configuration) and applying the 3H's.

3.3 Positive Affirmations

I would recommend that we should practice and favour positive affirmations, which are a source of and fuelLed by intrapersonal (intrinsic) power, and don't constantly seek out and be dependent on validation, which is a source of extrinsic power.

4.??HOPE

4.1???????Internal locus of control

The sources of hope are both a vision and mindset of a brighter future, viewed and perceived through a lens of optimism and positivity. We are the architects of our future and, therefore, we need to take ownership of the expansion of circles of control and influence and the compression of the circle of concern. The former circles are those where we have direct control and the latter circle falls beyond our realm of direct control. We need to develop an internal locus of control, in which we believe we are the masters of our own destiny. ?

4.2???????Position yourself as an Optimalist

We cannot afford to surrender and be captured by pessimism and anticipatory stress. Guard and mitigate against the added burden and pressure caused by procrastination and perfectionism – change the narrative of using terminology like “ideal scenario” and/or “desired end state.” I believe that we need to be Optimalists, with a healthy dose of realistic thinking and pragmatism and, therefore, counteract against being a perfectionist. Refer to the quotation below.

4.3????Visualization and future fitness

I find that visualization - creating positive mental pictures of the future in your mind's eye - is a power technique to promote higher levels of motivation, inspiration and personal effectiveness. This mental "rehearsal" is often a facilitator your planning and preparation and creates a heightened state of readiness i.e. a bootcamp to enable future fitness.

The strategic ambition of leadership is to future-proof their business operating model and the followership that they serve. If you’re fulfilling a leadership role, then the currency that you need to trade in and the narrative of your leadership messaging is hope. I’m reminded of the quotation by Napoleon Bonaparte,

“Leaders are dealers in hope”

5.???CONCLUSION

In light of applying the 3 H’s, I would recommend a pathway that favours:

• Don’t capitulate, Conquer (Health)
• Don’t worry, be a Warrior (Happiness)
• Don’t become extinct, become Distinct (Hope)

ABOUT THE WRITER AND CONTACT DETAILS

Dr Charles Cotter, The African Maverick, is an independent global blended learning practitioner and L&D strategist, who specializes in global talent management and -development, with over 21 years' of L&D industry experience. He is regarded as an influential, L&D thought leader on social media, with a global, learning footprint and -followership.

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