Energy: Your Leadership Edge for 2017

January 09, 2017, by Monica Bodurka | Performance Management

Welcome to 2017: fresh, full of possibility and opportunity. I am sure many of you, as well as your employees, have set goals and priorities for the New Year.  This is an important practice; if you don’t know where you are heading – how do you know if you have arrived? However, in today’s 24/7, uber-competitive world many of us struggle keeping up, much less getting ahead.  We lack time and, frankly, the energy to keep doing more, better and faster. Time is a great equalizer. No matter our background we all have the same number of hours in a day. But, personal energy is a different story. Imagine having more energy and focus in your daily life?  Imagine having the vitality and mental clarity to make better decisions, and consistently perform at the highest level at work and play? It is possible and here are 3 ways to get started

1) Fuel your Body for Superior Performance

Much like fueling your car, you must become mindful of how you fuel your body. Joshua Rosenthal, Founder of Integrative Nutrition and an incredible teacher always says: “Food changes everything.” What, and how, we eat affects the way we feel, think, act and perform. If you eat processed, junky food your thoughts, organs and person will over time become processed and junky.

Just pause here for a moment and take that in.

We hear over and over again: you are what you eat. But, we don’t really think about it. Your whole person is made up of what you consume; that includes how healthy you are, how much energy you have, and your thoughts, feelings and emotions. Research is now beginning to prove this. A recent study published in the British Journal of Health Psychology concluded that the more fruits and vegetables people consumed the happier, more engaged, and more creative they tended to be.¹

2) “Sleep your Way to the Top”

I heard Arianna Huffington say that once and it stuck. It is common sense to suggest that one should sleep more to improve their energy levels.  But often in the busy-ness of life we stay up later and wake up earlier to get more done. I know I was doing that when I first went back to work full-time after having my second child. There was always more to do and less time to do it in so I compromised on sleep and it destroyed me. For a while I functioned on caffeine and sugar but then I found myself making poor decisions, becoming easily stressed and much to my dismay, being less productive.  Researchers at Harvard Medical School have shown that there is a direct connection between sleep, health and improved performance.²

Benefits of quality sleep include:

• Increased energy

• Strengthened immune system

• Heightened alertness, focus, and creativity

• Improved mood by reducing anxiety, irritability, and mental exhaustion

So set aside your to-do list, put away your electronics, and get a good night’s sleep.

3) Tap into Passion to Fuel your Energy

Finally, I couldn’t write about energy without touching on the subject of purpose or passion.  I always say you can eat all the organic kale in the world but if you hate your job you won’t be healthy or energized.  I believe passion is a natural human fuel that inspires action, and those without passion or purpose are unfortunately running on empty. The New Year is a perfect time to ponder what you would do with yourself if you had all the time in the world. Think about what you: love to do, love to read, and love to talk about.  Also, think about what you fear that excites you. The goal is to find work you love or learn to love the work you do. As you do so, you will find yourself more energized, engaged, productive and happy.

I sincerely believe you can have the energy to live the life you want. It does take some mindful choices and the development of some positive behaviours.

For more information on how to become a more higher voltage you, please go to www.healthytothrive.com