Mage, the Preakness, and Burnout

Last Saturday, Mage, the Kentucky Derby winner, gave a valiant try to capture the second jewel of the Triple Crown, The Preakness Stakes, and failed even though the pace was historically slow. He was barreling down the stretch and drawing nigh, but National Treasure was on cruise control as he had been since the race’s onset with enough gas in his tank to beat Blazing Sevens by a head at the finish. Mage, 2 ? lengths behind, went home with the third place. Neither the first or second horse had run in the Derby. In fact, Mage was the only horse in the field that day who had run in the Derby. That’s like running a marathon on only a couple hours of sleep against a field of fresh opponents.

Three premier races, the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes on three different tracks at three different lengths in the span of 5 weeks makes the Triple Crown a Herculean endeavor, (and Hercules’ father was a god and not just any god, but the Olympic head honcho, Zeus!) Hence the reason some are calling for the rescheduling of the Triple Crown races putting more time between them. Gone are the days when Thoroughbreds run every one to two weeks. Why? Because there are questions as to whether the modern-day Thoroughbred can handle the physical demands of such a schedule. More importantly, people don’t breed to race anymore, they breed to sell. Therefore, as soon as a horse can garner some wins (ideally black type wins), then it’s time for the breeding shed in attempt to make more money than ever could be made during the animal’s racing career.

As I watched Mage running his heart out in the Preakness, seeing that he just couldn’t muster the necessary BTUs to beat his opponents, I thought about all the executives who do likewise, always on the run, taxing their minds, bodies, and spirits to create, convince, connect, and with their teams while outwitting, out producing, and out pacing their competitors.

It's as grueling as the Triple Crown. And it can last a lifetime.

But can WE last for a lifetime of Triple Crown performance attempts? Possibly if, like Hercules, we had some of that Zeus-juice DNA.

Maybe, although not likely, we had a chance before the instantaneous electronic exchanges of today. But now, keeping up with one’s emails, texts, calls, and social media is like shoveling snow in a blizzard. Moreover, just as a blizzard blurs one’s vision and hampers one's progress, so electronic communications devoid of body language, tone of voice, and context can distort the meaning and intent of the message, causing break downs of communication that hamper forward motion.??All of which make our tempests of business and busyness even more cataclysmic.

And then we burn out.

I used to think burn out was no big deal—easily resolved with a two-week trip to the Caribbean, days spent on the beach with Dan Brown or Danielle Steel in the tote, and plenty of pina coladas, punctuated with naps and dips into the azure sea.?

Then I got burnt out.

Years of excessive and constant stress putting out innumerable figurative fires left me fried and ashen.?I was exhausted, drained, demoralized, disinterested, aimless, mentally a-fog, hopeless, despairing, angry, resentful, sick (yup-cancer), and… The list goes on. But you get my gist. This was not something that could be solved with a brief holiday by the sea.

It didn’t have to be this way. Forte, the undisputed favorite for the 149th?Kentucky Derby was scratched from the race due to a hoof bruise. Tough decision as this was his once in a lifetime chance. But he’ll live to run another day.

It doesn’t have to be that way for executive leaders either. Sure, they are passionate about their work. Yes, they want to stay the course and stay in front, but those long hours and the many stresses, decisions, and actions can be physically, mentally, and emotionally waring resulting in tunnel vision and limiting their ability to perform.

?That’s when the “NOT to do list” comes in. Along with focusing on mastery rather than performance. Growth over outcome. Power vs. Force. And, as I often talk about- Being rather than Doing. It’s a matter of perspective and energy.?There's a way to lead that increases your energy, output, and satisfaction.

I’m getting excited. There is so much more to talk about here!??But that’s for another time, as are some thoughts on how horses can help us rise, like the Phoenix. out of our ashes when we’ve made too many Triple Crown attempts.

Hope this sparks your musing!

Susanna