Balance is within reach…if we shift our mindset
.
After 13 years of service, I finally feel like I’m starting to grasp this whole work-life balance thing. It’s not about splitting our time in half between work life and home life. It’s truly about being in the moment when we’re supposed to be in the moment.
No sense in sleeping while sitting in an arena watching two NFL teams go at it, right? The whole point of being there is to enjoy the game. Watch it live. To enjoy the feeling. To embrace the atmosphere. It’s not to take a nap.
So why is it that in our lives we can’t seem to be present when we need to be?
Because we’re in the wrong gear.
I had the pleasure of teaching a 5 Gears workshop over the last two days and through my interactions with our participants I noticed how much in the red and unhealthy we are with our gears as a force. The unhealthy nature of this is killing us. Before we even land in the desert (or wherever) to fight a war, we’ve already lost. We come there lacking balance.
We have to fix this. For those of you that couldn’t make it. Here’s a quick breakdown of the gears.
5th Gear: focus mode
This gear is used for focused work with no distractions and entering a state flow.
4th Gear: task mode
Most of us wake up and go straight into this gear.
3rd gear: social mode
This is the one many people love and many people hate and is impacted by your people and task orientation.
2nd gear: connect mode
This one is for the deeper connections.
1st gear: recharge mode
This one should be easy to identify! It’s the one we use to charge batteries! Exercise, sleep, reading, etc.
Reverse: responsive mode
This is a tough one. I can sum it up in one question. How easy is it for you to apologize? We must all develop the ability to apologize when we mess up. For many, it can be a difficult thing but for everyone, it should be a priority.
And that’s it! The five gears! But what now….
How do we stop ourselves from forgetting what we learn and apply it?
We have to take steps to remember these important lessons!
Step one is to schedule time to shift into recharge gear if you feel you don’t have enough recharge time. SCHEDULE TIME! Every day Sunday or Monday, when you start your week, remember to set time aside so you can recharge when you need to. If you don’t recharge properly it becomes difficult to shift into the right gears at the right time!
Step two is to stay consistent in your practice. A great way to do this is by teaching someone the Five Voices and asking them to hold you accountable just as you should hold them accountable. Having someone you trust to be there and share in the transformational tool is incredible!
You can even use hand signals (putting up three fingers for connect mode, or 5 fingers for focus mode) so you all know when and where each gear should be utilized!
Start now, teach someone, get some balance in your life.
Great points Ivan. We have to schedule time to recharge and if we don't have time it has to be made. You can't perform your best without taking time to recover. That applies equally to the physical as to the mental.