What’s your Force Multiplier?
Last week I wrote about Tipping/Tripping Points – that imaginary line in the sand where you go from “everything is wonderful” to “OMG, what’s wrong with me!?” in one fell swoop.
This week I’ve reflected on force multipliers – and if you don’t have one, you need to go find one … immediately.
A force multiplier is a military term for tools that help you amplify your efforts to produce more output. Basically, you get more done with the same amount of effort, or more bang for your buck.
In terms of my own force multiplier – it’s yoga. When I manage to make time to practice yoga regularly the benefits are astounding ….
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I’m far more creative
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My memory is better which gives the impression of being smarter and more in control
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I’ve got more energy and
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I’m pretty confident I’m a nicer person to be around (upbeat, less reactive, on an even keel)
Since getting back into a regular yoga practice it’s as though I’ve taken my car in for a service. Everything is running far more efficiently. The benefits are manifold – both personally and professionally.
Okay, so I have a love affair with my yoga practice. But there is probably something in your life that does the same for you. Maybe it’s cooking, spending time with your friends/kids, getting out in the garden, clocking up pavement time by walking/running/cycling, tinkering under the bonnet of your car or even writing. When you spend time doing this thing time drops away, you feel an increased sense of well being and back in control. Plus it gives you renewed energy to tackle big, hairy, ambitious projects again.
So my question to you is:
“Why is it that when the proverbial hits the fan, our force multipliers are some of the first things to drop away?”
When we get busy we are far more likely to drop the very things that would help us cope (or even power through) more easily.
As you know I’m a big believer in systems and routines the keep you successful. After all, you wouldn’t keep Tim Tams in the cupboard if you were going on a diet.
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So what can you put in place that will help systematize your force multiplier?
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What can you do to ‘routinise’ the things that keep you successful?
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How can you make sure that you are prioritizing the very things that are really important over the things that others expect of you, or your perfectionist self expects of yourself?
And do let me know, because your ideas maybe of huge benefit to someone else in this network.
There is an old Zen saying –
“You should sit in meditation for 20 minutes every day — unless you’re too busy; then you should sit for an hour.”
While meditation and yoga might not be your thing, the same principle applies. Don’t stop doing the very things that keep you performing at your best at the very time you need them most.
Vive la révolution!
#ambitionrevolution #LookOutCSuiteHereSheComes #feminineambition
Fortune favours the well prepared particularly on LinkedIn
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