How recharged are you?
As the year drew to a close, I took some time to reflect on my experiences and realized that one of the most important lessons for 2024 is to pursue my calling
In 2023, a distressing 40% of US workers made the difficult decision to leave their jobs due to burnout
A few weeks ago, I met a businessman who had been working in the same industry for over 25 years. He confided, "You know, Pierre, I'm tired of working for people who don't truly care about the environment. I want to spend my last 15 years in the workplace (guess his age!) doing something meaningful that I'll be genuinely happy about. Not just making money, but creating value for future generations. Please help me." I encounter countless people sharing similar stories, and for each of them, I say, "Let's write your beautiful story together!"
A beautiful story starts as follows
At the close of each year, I take a moment to reflect on its entirety, engaging in a comprehensive review by asking myself these five questions:
This period has been the most productive one for me this year, and here are some insights to share with you.
How recharged are you?
One simple way to assess your energy level is to evaluate how you respond to change. Do you avoid change at all costs or do you embrace novelty as an opportunity to grow and develop? Do you see more threats and risks than potentialities and opportunities? Score yourself on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is totally avoiding change and 10 is embracing any change.
This year, I assessed my energy level (around 4-5) and realized that I was working more often from a scarcity mindset
Let me explain:
I often took on tasks and projects out of guilt and negative reinforcement ("I have to do this if not...") because I lacked the energy or passion to be fully engaged in them. I was pursuing ambitious projects and goals with depleted energy. This is when I came to understand the importance of kindness.
Kindness helped me shift from a scarcity mindset to an abundance mindset.
I was no longer working out of guilt but rather out of passion. And the more I engaged with this mindset, the more difficult it was to stop what I was doing. Artists and athletes call this state ‘flow’. While science is not clear on how to enter and maintain flow, there are several conditions that can be created to make it more likely. One of these conditions is kindness to yourself and others.
What does this look like in practice?
During the past year, I spent at least 5 minutes each day reflecting on how I practiced kindness. And I discovered two key elements:
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1. Doing less/being more (self-compassion )
Frustrations with not being productive enough sometimes stem from something other than a lack of work. For example, I often found myself trying too hard on something I didn't need to. What was missing were the components that were holding me back (e.g., energy, project purpose, external resources…).
As a way to cope with the pain, I'd compulsively check my social media. This became a breeding ground for judgments and criticisms of myself and others. And this is exactly what happens when we take on too much.
So doing less means doing less work or "hard work"—the kind that makes you feel depleted, like work that engages your weaknesses instead of your strengths—and let go of your inner critic, which saps your energy more than it empowers you. Focusing on doing only leads to frustration that we haven't achieved enough or met our own or others' expectations.
However, if we focus on being more, we give ourselves the opportunity to reach our full potential. Here are a few examples of how I have focused on being more in the past year.
Being more…
Beyond self-compassion, kindness also includes putting others first. It manifests through four pillars: listening, loving, forgiving, and serving.
Summary
Assessing our energy levels, gratitude, self-awareness, and actions provides a compass for navigating the complexities of our lives.
Kindness towards ourselves and others is not just a fleeting gesture. It has the power to transform our mindset from scarcity to abundance. The practice of doing less and being more helps us to focus on our strengths, give up unrealistic expectations, and savor the richness of each moment.
Placing others first by actively listening, genuinely loving, forgiving, and serving has a profound ripple effect on both our own well-being and the well-being of those around us. In a world that often glorifies individual achievements, the true essence of a fulfilling life lies in our connections and contributions to others.
As 2024 just started, let these reflections guide our actions. Let us be architects of our narratives, crafting stories that align with our passions and values. May we choose authenticity over conformity, passion over mere productivity, and kindness over self-criticism.
Remember, your story is still being written. Embrace the journey, savor the moments, and continue to ask those key questions that lead to a life well-lived. Here's to a new chapter, where energy is abundant, kindness is boundless, and fulfillment is the guiding star on our collective journey. And happy new year 2024!
To Grow Further
Helping Educators Escape the Classroom, Get High Paying Clients & Start Building | Mission to 1 Million | #TheEnergeticIntrovert
1 年This is a great peace Pierre!! Love the distinction between doing and being. The state we are in become the lense which we see the world and when we are fully charged all areas of our life improves. Looking forward to see you live even more into the abundance you will create. ???♂?
Executive & Leadership Communication Coach | My work lies at the intersection of leadership and communication. I enable senior and emerging leaders to leverage the power of their presence to create influence and impact.
1 年With ‘Do’ in your name your are already 100 % recharged even if you focus on being more than doing Pierre Do ! Your reflections are very insightful as also the questions . Wish you an abundant and fulfilling 2024:)