If you want to know the importance of energy to America’s work force, look no further than the lines at Starbucks. Clearly people are searching for more energy to fuel their busy, demanding work schedules and lives. After all, if you don’t have energy, you can’t lead, sell, inspire, serve or advance in your career.
Unfortunately, however, double lattes are not the kind of energy that will enhance our performance and success. Real, sustained energy cannot be found in a can or bottle, but rather in the currency of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual energy that recharges, renews, refocuses and repurposes us daily.
In today’s energy-strapped, time-constrained business climate, those who want to take their career to the next level must be physically energized, mentally positive, emotionally contagious and purpose-driven.
Life is no longer a sprint. It’s not a marathon, either. Rather it’s a sprint and a boxing match combined where you are not only running as hard as you can, but you are getting hit along the way. Exercising, eating high-energy foods with protein and fiber as part of five small meals throughout the day will help you sustain your physical and mental energy and manage your stress.
Just as athletes must train for enhanced success, you must train to build your energy and strength. But training doesn’t stop at the physical level. To be at the top of your game, you’ll want to cultivate the positive energy necessary to overcome adversity, challenges and obstacles that often derail and sabotage so many careers. What most people don’t realize is that the latest research in neuroscience shows we can cultivate more positive energy, build mental muscle and mold our brains to be more positive and resilient to stress.
One proven way to do this is meditation, which research shows is like gasoline for the mind and body. It’s not just for Buddhist monks, but for athletes and business people who want to enhance their focus, energy, creativity and performance. Anyone who has ever worked for a very positive and uplifting boss or a negative energy vampire also knows the importance of the emotional energy we share with others.
Walt Whitman said we convince by our presence, and emotional energy is what does the convincing. Research from the Institute of HeartMath demonstrates that when we have a feeling it starts in our heart, goes to every cell in the body and outward, and can be detected up to five to 10 feet away. We are broadcasting our emotional heartfelt energy to our co-workers, employees and company every moment of every day.
Positive emotions enhance personal energy, team interactions and career success while negative emotions decrease energy and sabotage productivity and performance. That’s why Jack Welch said that great leaders have tons and tons of positive energy and they are contagious. It’s also why Pete Carroll, the two-time national champion coach of University of South Carolina football, has built a culture around positive energy. Those who want to succeed today must learn to manage their emotions under pressure, to stay positive and focused and develop a currency of positive emotional energy.
Cultivating a state of gratitude especially during challenging times is one way to enhance your energy currency and become more contagious. Gratitude floods your brain and body with positive thoughts and emotions that improve the way you think and feel. This brings us to the final and most powerful energy currency we can tap into: purpose. The fact is, we can eat all the avocado, drink all the water and do all the push-ups we want, but if we don’t have purpose, passion and enthusiasm for what we do each day, we’ll never feel as energized as we could.
Purpose is the ultimate fuel for our life and careers and it is essential for lasting success. When you are purpose-driven, you tap into an unlimited amount of energy currency. So instead of just going to work, find something within your work that contributes to a bigger purpose — something bigger than you, something that makes a difference — and let this purpose energize your success.
Source: Jacksonville Business Journal by Jon Gordon
Julia Felton (aka The Business Wrangler) is the founder of Business HorsePower. Business leaders, entrepreneurs and executives hire her to accelerate their business performance by harnessing the energy of their people to work more collaboratively together. By aligning purpose with actions the team achieves exponential results as everyone starts pulling in the same direction.
Julia believes that business is a force for good and through designing purpose-driven businesses that leverage the laws of nature, and the herd, you can create businesses founded on the principles of connection, collaboration and community that make a significant impact in the world.
