Under Pressure
The mammalian dive reflex occurs when a mammal’s face is submerged in cold water and a series of physiological responses work to conserve oxygen and prioritize the brain and heart as the recipients of that oxygen. Free divers, athletes that compete to see who can dive the deepest without the aid of scuba gear, leverage this reflex to dive to incredible depths, well in excess of 100 meters. The reflex is certainly an asset in the sport, but it also poses a risk. Divers report experiencing a state of extreme peace or bliss that defies the reality of the danger they are in, tempting them to go too deep and risk injury or even death. Their body’s reaction to pressure and scarcity of resources fools the brain into thinking it’s in a much safer situation than it is.
The first two months of this year were extremely busy for me. I was moving at an unsustainable pace, but as the fatigue increased, my energy during the day steadily increased. The more time I spent with clients, the better I felt. What I didn’t realize at the time was that other parts of my life and work were suffering. I wasn’t doing any business development, I wasn’t writing, and my Rocks weren’t getting done. On the personal front, my relationship with my wife was strained, and my cycling training was weak. My body was doing its own version of the dive reflex: Under pressure it focused my scarce energy on the daily work, and when the work went well, I was fooled into thinking everything was great… until I got sick. It’s been two months now, and I’m just starting to feel normal.
How about you? Are you running too hard but fooling yourself into thinking all is good, because you’re serving people, solving problems, and getting a hundred serotonin hits a day? Here are a few questions to ask yourself:
Am I excited about the work I’m doing to prepare my business for future growth and scalability?
Do I have ample energy for both my work and non-work activities?
Are my employees and family getting enough of my focused attention?
If you answered “no” to any of those questions, you might be running too hot but letting day-to-day wins fool you into thinking you’re fine. If that’s the case, you need to rest. It’s not about taking it easy or being weak; it’s about creating reserves, so that after working “in” the business you have enough energy left over to work “on” the business and take care of the relationships that will sustain you for the long run.
EOS® is the best system I’ve ever seen for creating focus - the kind of focus that makes the most of your energy, so you can reach your business goals and have the life you want outside of work..