Are You Addicted to Adrenaline

Wow! Have the last 18 months been something new, different, unpredictable, and requiring a constant vigilance of attention and action? How are you feeling?

If you’re like most leaders you are probably exhausted, drained of most of your reserves and wondering, “Can I slow down? Can I take my eye off the ball, or will something else pop up that needs my immediate attention?” You’ve been running on an adrenaline rush most of this past year, ready to respond with the “Fight or Flight,” system (your sympathetic or autonomic nervous system) on edge, cued up, ready to respond.

As you prepare for summer, you, like me, are probably wondering “What will the summer bring?’ Will the new variant of COVID take hold and cases rise, causing us to once again respond with urgency? What will happen if supplies don’t meet consumer demands and inflation takes hold? Will that affect my organization is some way? What if….. STOP!

Have you, like me, become addicted to that adrenaline rush of having to be available 24/7 to respond (It’s 3:59 am and I’ve been up since 3, shuffling papers, catching up on email, and making sure I am ready to go)? OK, just stop, and I know, it is easier said than done. Well, it’s Friday, and this use to mean it’s time to unplug at 4:00pm for, yes, the weekend.

I was recently listening to Patrick Lencioni’s “At the Table” and it was his podcast, “Are You Addicted to Adrenaline” that got me thinking about this, and hence this posting.

It’s OK, take a break, and it probably will be a longer than usual break. As we get to the end of June, block off your calendar to take some extended weekend, or “gasp,” an extended week, or two vacation, unplugging as much as you can. Use your autoreply to ask people, “please resent your email, request, or just say hello after I return from my extended time away from work. I probably won’t find your recent email in my vacation folder.” If it is important, they will follow up, if they don’t, well, that’s one thing that won’t be on your “to do list” when you return, and perhaps you can enjoy recover from your adrenaline addiction. It’s now 4:30, and the sun’s coming up, I think I will go for a long walk and enjoy the quiet morning. It will be OK if I am not at my computer at 9:00 am.