My good friend Sonia brings intensity to her work and with her family. It works, except for when it doesn’t. Her son in law is comfortable saying, “Chill Sonia!” signaling her to tone it down a bit. Truth be told, there are times when I might tone down my own intensity. This perspective has caused me to study solutions for my clients, my good friends, and myself.
Suneel Gupta, author of “Everyday Dharma: 8 Essential Practices for Finding Success and Joy in Everything You Do” Gives the example of sprinter Carl Lewis. Lewis calibrated his intensity and applied 85% of this to races. He started each sprint with a relaxed posture and kept it the entire time to win the race. Here are some tips from Gupta that I share with clients and use myself:
- Exercise before significant events to dial down intensity.
- Practice 5 minutes of belly breathing when stressed – it supplies a brief break.
- Incorporate frequent, focused breaks, up to 8 daily.
- Adopt a 55-minute work cycle followed by a deliberate, nonproductive 5-minute break.
After an event or the entire day, I ask clients to debrief about their intensity and the impact that they had.
On a scale of 1-5, how did you do on “winning the race”, or better yet, getting others to take part in their work or their life in new and wonderful ways?
Applying these tips have paid off for Sonia, my clients. and me.
Chuck Scharenberg is the Founder of More Profit More Freedom, a consultancy that successfully guides new C-suite individuals in growing companies by building robust infrastructures and engaged teams to scale their businesses.