I don’t have a crash story of my own. I’ve never died for a few minutes on a hospital table. I’ve never passed out at my desk with pure exhaustion from burnout.
No. My story is less dramatic. My big moment of realization came 5 weeks ago when I took a nap.
You see I'd been trying to set my New Year’s goals. I had resolve but no energy. So I took a nap. It didn't help - it only made me realize how utterly exhausted I really was. And I decided that needed to change. I needed to create a ritual for my energy.
Where is your energy at? Really? Close your eyes for the next 5 seconds and sink into it.
After more than a decade of coaching people in the rituals of high performance I’ve learned something about how they achieve great things year after year. They don’t manage their time. They manage their energy.
They don’t set resolutions. Because resolve isn’t enough. They set rituals.
A ritual is not a resolution. It’s not a habit. It’s more than that. It’s so engrained that you don’t even need to think about it, thus reserving energy for greater things.
According to Schwartz and Loehr, authors of The Power of Full Engagement, the prime example of a ritual is brushing my teeth: I do it absolutely every day, right after I eat my oatmeal and right before bed. I’ve never started the day wondering, “Will I brush my teeth today? Will there be time?” It’s an absolute, so I need not waste mental energy asking those questions: it’s a ritual.
But I have asked each of those questions about resolutions. About exercise. About working ON my business not in it. About being fully present at work or at home. For those things I’ve had resolve, but no absolute ritual.
So today we’re going to create an energy ritual. Next month we’ll explore focus rituals. Then visionary rituals and relationship rituals. These are my 4 rituals of high performance. They will cause you to stop trying…and start doing the things that make you wildly effective and deeply satisfied [that’s what high performance is really all about].
If this is going to work you need to critically think about when and where this ritual will fit your life BEFORE committing to it. Ask yourself:
- What makes my energy crash and burn? What ritual could curb that?
- What makes my energy surge? What ritual could inject more of that?
- What do I moan about missing in my life that used to energize me? What ritual could bring that back into present-day life (considering my new commitments)?
Now commit to just ONE new ritual that will be as absolute as brushing your teeth. And tell someone about it: up the accountability.
Rhonda is leading a series of mastermind groups starting this month. If you’ve always thought you’d like to be coached, but can’t afford the 1-on-1 model of coaching, this is perfect for you! Contact Rhonda by e-mail at info@RhondaVictoor.com or phone 250.712.0085.
