The Power of Emotional Runway: Fuelling Resilience in Life and Work

In business, we often hear about financial runway—the amount of time a company has before it runs out of money. But there’s another kind of runway that’s equally important, perhaps even more so: emotional runway.

Emotional runway is your capacity to cope, persevere, and thrive despite challenges. It’s about how much emotional and mental energy you have left to tackle life’s inevitable ups and downs. And just like financial runway, if you don’t manage it well, you risk burnout, disengagement, or giving up altogether.

Emotional runway happens not only with organizations but also individually in both professional and personal fronts. The first example that immediately comes to mind is that of tennis icon Bjorn Borg who retired from tennis at the age of just 25 when he was the Number 1 or Number 2 player in the world because he no longer felt motivated to continue playing despite being at the peak of his capabilities.

Let’s break down what emotional runway is, why it matters, and how you can extend yours to navigate life and work more successfully.

Some of the day-to-day challenges that we keep facing daily when we feel that we are running out of emotional runway are as below.

1.The Never-Ending Inbox and completion of pending things

We all would have devised our own ways of addressing this challenge and in today's world we need to keep on innovating as the dynamics keep on changing.

2. Parenting Amid Chaos

Your toddler throws a tantrum because of something which you aren’t sure what. Meanwhile, your phone is buzzing with work notifications. It’s only 8 a.m., and you already feel drained. Sheryl Sandberg, former COO of Meta, shared how mindfulness practices helped her navigate parenting challenges while balancing a demanding career.

3. The Dreaded Project Deadline

You’re leading a critical project, but unexpected issues and direction changes keep popping up. The pressure is mounting, your bosses are on your end and your emotional runway is shrinking fast. Am sure all of us have gone through this situation at some point in our life.

I was listening to this interesting talk today morning which were about goals and even when we set the most ambitious goals, we might not have control if we can actually reach there or achieve there..

One interested suggestion which was given which all of us would have tried out in different ways was to break down the project into smaller tasks. While we might still not have any control on the outcome focus on the things that we can control and work on. For example, if I want to reach my office at 8.30 in the morning which is a 30-minute commute from my house what I can actually control is to ensure that I leave at 8 am. Enroute we might face different challenges which we haven’t planned for like unexpected traffic etc.

4. Social Media Overload

Scrolling through social media can quickly deplete your emotional reserves. Everyone else seems to be thriving while you’re just trying to keep it together.

How to Extend Your Emotional Runway

1. Prioritize Rest and Recovery

Sleep is non-negotiable. Rest isn’t just about sleep; it’s about taking breaks to recharge throughout the day. Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder, emphasizes getting eight hours of sleep as a key to better decision-making.

2. Practice Gratitude

Gratitude shifts your focus from what’s wrong to what’s right. Keep a journal or take a moment each day to reflect on what you’re thankful for. Oprah Winfrey has long credited her daily gratitude practice for maintaining her emotional wellbeing.

3. Set Boundaries

Learn to say no. Protect your time and energy by setting clear boundaries at work. Have been reading recently of how both Elon Musk and Richard Branson have been able to achieve a lot more diverse things because they learned how to say NO.

4. Build a Support Network

Surround yourself with people who uplift you. Almost all successful sports persons who have been able to stay at the top level for a long period credit their success to their support networks.

5. Engage in Activities That Bring Joy

Whether it’s a hobby, exercise, or spending time with loved ones, prioritize activities that refill your emotional tank. Serena Williams often highlights how spending time with her daughter helps her reset mentally.

6. Develop a Growth Mindset

Embrace challenges as opportunities to learn and grow. A growth mindset helps you maintain emotional runway even when things get tough. Novak Djokovic the person with the maximum number of Grand Slams often talks about how he was able to become the player he is from war torn Serbia because of the growth mindset.

7. Adapt to Changing Circumstances

Just as individuals must adapt, so do companies. Businesses that pivot effectively often have leaders with strong emotional runway. Netflix started as a DVD rental company before becoming a global streaming giant. Their ability to adapt and persevere during market changes reflects strong emotional runway. The same is the case with Google which had to redefine its concept of search before it adapted the model that we see today.

We have been conditioned to ignore the needs of our emotional runway or rather we often underrate the effect that emotions have on our overall success and happiness. We also need to keep in mind that emotional runway isn’t infinite, but it’s renewable. By managing it wisely using the techniques suggested above you can navigate life’s challenges with resilience and grace.

Do share your thoughts and experiences on emotional runway that you would surely have experienced in the comments below.

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