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Developing the Corporate Athlete in You
Some years ago, I was inspired by Tony Schwartz’s concept of the “corporate athlete” featured in his book, “The Power of Full Engagement.” It really resonated with my belief that many corporate executives have learned very little about, or at least have not applied to any great extent, the principles adhered to by most professional athletes.
It starts with vacation. In the United States, various studies report that as many as 70 percent of employees do not take their full vacation, which is akin to the offseason for a professional athlete. For reasons perhaps too many to list, most corporate athletes do not feel comfortable leaving their posts for five weeks out of the year to recharge their batteries and sharpen their saw in the physical, spiritual, emotional, and mental dimensions of their lives.
But more importantly, the daily grind of operating leaner and squeezing costs and margins leads many a corporate warrior to unconsciously throw more hours and waning energy at as many activities as possible — sacrificing family time, exercising, and eating properly in the process.
Our health as a nation is suffering, and even our productivity is slipping, as we hang on tightly to an outdated paradigm of work that is still too focused on working harder — but not necessarily smarter.
So what to do, and more importantly, why do it? We have developed the following guidelines which, when followed consistently, will greatly enhance both your productivity and well-being.
1. Slow down to go faster: Slow the game of life down in your mind, think from the end, and visualize success before each segment of your day. Appreciate the real benefits of eating slower, driving slower, and moving more slowly and deliberately from task to task throughout your day.
2. Practice deep breathing: Continuing the theme of slowing down, consciously breathe more slowly and deeply. Start your day and each subsequent segment of your day with a deep “baby breath.” Breathe deeply from the diaphragm at a rate of 6 to 8 times per minute.
3. Retreat regularly for perspective: Perform weekly planning that includes a review of your purpose, values, intention, and one to three vital goals — verifiable, inspiring, time-bound, actionable, and limitless — that will move you closer to your vision.
4. Monitor your thoughts: Use journaling to track both the quality and patterns of your thinking. Reduce the number of thoughts you have and focus on what you want. Counter negative, disempowering thoughts with affirmations. Affirmations, written in the first person, present tense, are positive in nature, and lead to inspired action.
5. Commit one hour a day to your “Daily Power Hour”: Spend a total of 60 minutes per day dedicated to spiritual, physical, emotional, and mental renewal.
6. Take your full vacation: Plan for and treat your vacation period as your offseason. Use it to truly get ready to engage at the levels of maximum effectiveness.
Challenge yourself — really challenge yourself — and ask, “Am I training myself at the levels of an elite corporate athlete, and are my current routines and practices sustainable?”
Ralph L. Simone is founder of Emergent (formerly Productivity Leadership Systems) in Baldwinsville
Originally appeared in Central New York Business JournalApril 18th, 2014