Call me crazy but I love Mondays!

Sycronicity

I get excited about the start of the day, the week, the month, the season, and the year.

I am especially eager when the fall rolls around because it always symbolizes the season of learning with the return of both students and routine.  So this fall, I was surprised to find my energy and enthusiasm waning.  Like a tire with a slow leak, I felt flat and uninspired.

It was a busy summer, and I spent most of it doing the dance of insanity.  My daughter got married.  I started my own business.  All very exciting!  However, it also meant burning the candle at both ends physically, mentally and financially.  With too many balls in the air, too many people to please, too many rabbit trails to follow, I found myself buried in a tsunami of my own making.  But the real tsunami was the story inside my head.  I was repeating a self-defeating message of overwhelm and I was starting to believe it.  

Habits are a redundant set of thoughts, behaviors, and patterns that get repeated over and over again.  They either serve us or they don’t.  I like habits that serve me and in order to get back on track, I needed to get back to what I know.

Philosopher Morpheus said “There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path”.  If you truly want to be a leader, then you better lead your own life first.  Leading your own life means embracing the notion that your primary responsibility is taking charge of self.  I preach it, I teach it and I believe it.  I knew I had to look myself in the mirror, and gently give myself some of my own advice!  This fall, I needed to ADAPT, and maybe you do to.

It may mean going back to the basics:

ASK:  Be the curious scientist in your own life.  Ask yourself lots of questions.  What is your super power? What do people thank you for? When do you feel like your best self?  What do you believe about yourself that needs to stop right now?

DESIRE:  The power of aspiration is greater than the power of desperation.  Now that you know yourself, what do you want? Not what does your mother want or your children want or your world expect.  Get clear about what you want and set your intention.  When you know what you want, you have what Danielle LaPorte calls ‘goals with soul’.

ACTION:  Your behavior must match your intention.  Create an action plan.  A key piece to playing at your absolute best is to ensure that your daily rituals reflects your intention.  What are the steps needed to move you toward what you desire?  Break them down and write them out.

PRIORITIZE:  Do those things first before anything else, and when you are doing them – be fully engaged.  As Robin Sharma reminds us, ‘Rather than doing many things at mediocrity, do just a few things with mastery’.

TRUST:  Be patient and let go of your need for instant gratification.  Trust that it is the small incremental steps that will move you forward. #babysteps

And here you have it.  Applying some ADAPTATION brought me back to the powHERful rituals that support my health and fitness, business and personal goals.  Most importantly, it brought me back to ALIGNMENT with myself and my belief that leadership is an inside job.

When I look in the mirror, I want to be the kind of leader that I want to follow.