Life Lessons Learned from Illness: A Journey Towards Peak Performance

I write this going in to week two at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, to address a chronic health issue I’ve been battling now for several years.  Here are some of the things I’ve learned through this long journey and that apply to all aspects of life - both personal and business:

1) There was always a nagging voice in my head preventing me from openly sharing about something that could be perceived as weakness. I’ve come to realize that acknowledging vulnerability is the opposite of fragility – it’s strength, and doing so opens up a world of new possibilities, ideas, solutions, and support. 

2) Rarely is there a quick fix to a complex problem. Our healthcare system is focused on slapping band-aids on symptoms (some would argue in the interest of creating "repeat customers"); not on addressing the systemic whole and the underlying conditions that manifest as symptoms. We have been trained to seek the instant gratification of a clear diagnosis, followed by a miracle pill. The winding path towards optimal health, happiness, and performance starts with embracing the whole (physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional) and taking personal responsibility.

3) Part of a meditation practice that has helped with coping and maintaining a positive mindset has been an exploration of physical pain. Counter-intuitively, an effective meditation technique entails focusing on the pain, visualizing it, and diving deep within its epicenter to become so intertwined with the pain that it ceases to be an external “thing” that you resist. In a business context, we also have a tendency to resist that which causes our organizations and our teams pain.  Running at and embracing chronic pain in a team setting can be perceived as negativity, causing business issues to become the elephants-in-the-room that everyone knows about (and speaks about to a trusted few behind the water cooler), but no one openly acknowledges. Accepting challenges and running headlong at them empowers us to overcome them. 

3) BE YOUR OWN ADVOCATE. By doing the research and gaining the knowledge, you can contextualize standards of care with your unique situation, and then actively partner with caregivers to contribute to your treatment plan (instead of nodding your head and blindly accepting every "expert" diagnosis, even in those instances when every fiber of your being knows that the precription is incorrect).  Doctors - and business leaders - aren't gods, and every body and business is different. In business, there are few who understand each specific function like those who live that function all day, every day. Those on the frontline need to be confident in providing input on optimizing work and performance, and organizations are best served when leaders give their teams a real voice and then take the time to listen.

4) Never, ever stop learning. Life and business are big science experiments. No matter how much you know (or think you know), entering in to each day and experience with a beginner's mindset provides the foundation and the framework for never-ending growth and learning.  

Have a great week and stay healthy, everyone!