Recharge
Background
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Boston College School of
Management
8+ years executive search
and recruitment
Citigroup Asset
Management Institutional
Sales Associate
Certified Executive Life
and Career Coach
18 years – 40+ Marathons
Energy: the capacity to work.
It comes from 4 major wellsprings:
• Body
• Emotions
• Mind
• Spirit
You are in charge.
How do you reclaim & increase your energy?
Walter Mehl (1936 – 2004)
“Don’t tighten up; lighten up!”
Stress
Physical response to events that upset your balance.
Hypothalamus, at the base of your brain, sets off
an alarm system in your body. This prompts
adrenal glands to release a surge of hormones.
* Adrenaline: increases your heart rate,
elevates your blood pressure.
* Cortisol: increases glucose in the
bloodstream and alters immune system
responses. Suppresses the
digestive system
and the reproductive system.
The body doesn’t distinguish between physical and
psychological threats. Heart pounds faster, muscles tighten,
blood pressure rises, breath quickens.
Chronic Stress
Overexposure to cortisol & other stress hormones, puts
you at an increased risk:
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Heart attack
Stroke
Sleep problems
Digestive issues
Obesity
Memory impairment
Contributes to infertility
Speeds up the aging process.
Can even rewire the brain, more vulnerable to anxiety &
depression.
Signs of the need to recharge
• Fatigue.
• Stress.
• Reduced productivity. • Difficulty concentrating.
• Anxiety.
• Irritability.
• Difficulty sleeping.
• Not eating healthfully.
HUMAN ENERGY CRISIS
© Human Performance Institute, Inc.
PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES
CORPORATE
ATHLETES
Training
Hours worked
Career span
90%
10%
4-6/day
8-12/day
7-10 years
30+ years
© Human Performance Institute, Inc.
Full Engagement requires you to be…
spiritually
mentally
emotionally
physically
aligned
focused
connected
energized
© Human Performance Institute, Inc.
Body
Self Maintenance
• Eat a nutritious diet
• Get enough sleep. (The longer, more
continuously, & later at night you work,
the less efficient & more mistake prone
you become.)
• Be physically active every day
• Be with people who energize you
• Get support, when needed
• Know your limits
Big Rocks
Common barriers to recharging
• No time
• Not enough money
• Distracted by family responsibilities
• Focus on others
• Difficulty relaxing
What are some of your barriers?
Emotions
© Human Performance Institute, Inc.
Create Positive Emotions:
• Do Relaxation Techniques – Meditation, yoga, and
muscle relaxation exercises.
• Find Positive Meaning –Reframing adverse events in a
positive light.
• Laugh – Our brains don’t know the difference between a
real smile and a fake smile.
Defining Moments
• Anything that boosts your confidence, gives you more energy.
• An effective way to build your confidence is to take an inventory of your
accomplishments
• Defining Moment: an occasion when you found something in yourself
you didn’t know you had or forgot you had, & pulled it out.
• When you said, “Yes I will!” or “No, I won’t!”
• It’s a moment after which you never thought of yourself in quite the
same way.
• Be specific, don’t edit yourself. Write about a time when you did
something you did not think you could do and you surprised yourself.
• These will become your “greatest hits”, (your abilities, achievements) to
reflect upon, before a big meeting or at the start of each day.
Positive Emotional Energy
Builds:
• Attention and Focus
• Increase In Creative Thinking
• Better Relationships
• Resilience to Negative Emotions
Mind
Change Your Thoughts
Change Your Perceptions
I decide how I will:
Think
Feel
Behave
Be an actor, not a reactor.
Don’t let anyone else decide how you’re going to act.
Cognitive Distortions
Cognitive distortions are logical, but they
are not rational. They create real
difficulty with your thinking.
ALL-OR-NOTHING THINKING: You see
things in black-and-white categories. If
your performance falls short of perfect,
you see yourself as a total failure.
OVERGENERALIZATION: You see a
single negative event as a never-ending
pattern of defeat.
MIND READING: You arbitrarily conclude
that someone is reacting negatively to you,
and you don't bother to check this out.
Biggest barriers:
Faulty storytelling
Multitasking
Spirit
Spiritual Dimension
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Purpose-driven
Commitment
Passion
Energy associated with our deepest values
Self-discovery questions:
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What legacy do you want to leave behind?
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How do you want people to describe you?
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Who do you want to be?
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Who/what matters most to you?
Feed Your Spirit
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Find your “play”
Listen to music
Read
Write
Choose hobbies that fit within your
financial, time, and energy limits.
• Do nothing. Schedule time for it.
Summary:
• Body (maintenance)
• Emotions (defining moments)
• Mind (observe your thoughts)
• Spirit (“play”)
Questions?
www.annmehl.com