Reactive vs. Proactive: How Small Pauses Lead to Big Wins
Haydan Firth
Fractional Head of People | Executive and Leadership Coach | Wellbeing Expert | Workshop Facilitator
Hello!
As if it's October tomorrow!?
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September feels like it's flown by, but I am so ready for this last quarter of the year!
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Are you ending this quarter on a high or are you needing to reflect on what hasn't gone so well?
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Something to think about!
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Anyway…
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Last week I shared the same quote about three times in three different scenarios, which tells me that it is probably a good idea to share with you!
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The quote is from Abraham Lincoln and he says:
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“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”
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You may or may not have come across this before, and as much as it's a great quote, I believe that it really deserves some quality reflection time.
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As I said, this came up multiple times in multiple different scenarios, and I've been really thinking about why that is and what the theme/problem is that causes this to be so relevant.
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What I've discovered from this is that many people are so stuck in the doing of things that they aren't taking the time to step out and think strategically about things.
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What this means is that people are being reactive rather than proactive, rarely fixing problems and finding better ways to do things.
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A really great example of this for me is around the gym classes I take part in.
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I could just see the workout on the board and do it, but I'm usually better off taking some time to work out an efficient strategy to complete it, rather than sending it full force for the first minute and then dying a death for the rest of it.
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Just 30 seconds of creating a plan before the workout starts is what enables me to have a really effective session where I'm working efficiently and sustainably.
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If you're feeling like you can't get your head above water to take a breath, sometimes the best thing to do is to stop trying to tread water and actually just get out for a minute.
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This is the same reason army's have reconnaissance teams.
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Why spend 12 hours fighting your way through a street when there's potentially a different route that is out of enemy sight and will see you get to your target quicker and with less casualties.
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When was the last time you paused or took a step back to check if things are actually working and to see if there's potentially a different and better way to do things?
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It's important to know that this doesn't mean you need to rip up your strategies and processes and have a complete overhaul, it's sometimes just taking 15 minutes to stop, breathe, and remember where you're going and what you're currently doing.
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I encourage you to find these small moments of time throughout your week and to see what you can do with them, because as I've mentioned, they can be incredibly valuable.
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What does sharpening your axe look like this week?
Quote for the week
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“There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.”
- Peter Drucker
Recommendation
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Ross Edgley
World Record: 510km/56 hour Non-Stop Swim (Yukon River)
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‘How far can a human swim non-stop? No sleep, no rest and no touching land. On June 16, 2024, we wanted to find out and embarked on a 510km (317 mile) non-stop swim down the Yukon River (Canada) in water temperatures as low as 8°C (46.4°F). Now ratified as an Official Guinness World Record, the entire adventure was only made possible by the heroics of the team who protected me from bears, wolves and hypothermia and navigated me through rapids, currents and log jams.’ You may remember me mentioning Ross Edgley in a podcast recommendation a few weeks back, but this time I'm recommending the youtube documentary that follows him on this world record swim attempt.
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It's such a cool video to watch, not just for the craziness of the challenge, the planning and logistics, and the inspiration you get from watching it, but also the incredibly place in which he's swimming with it's beautiful views.
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This documentary gives you a deeper understanding of what this challenge entailed, and what it was really like for Ross, which as I've mentioned is super inspiring and motivating.
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Life Hack
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Dealing with automated LinkedIn messages
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As many of you may know or have experienced, LinkedIn can be full of these automated messages about how people can help you with X,Y, or Z.
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Further to this, most of us experience those Instagram DM's or cold sales calls which are also sometime a pain.
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Firstly I want to say that I get it, it's a valuable way to get leads, if you don't ask you don't get, blah blah blah.
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I usually ignore these messages, but what that means is I get all the follow ups to, which I also ignore, and sometimes it feels like it's never going to stop.
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The answer I've found it to be polite enough to say that you're not interested.
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By doing this instead of ignoring it means i get taken out of the follow up sequence and me inbox gets a rest.
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I hope this is helpful!
How can I help you?
If you want to hear more about what I do and how you can work with me, send me a DM or email me at?[email protected]
I hope you have a fantastic week, and I'll be back in your inbox next week!
Haydan