It’s An Inside Job

Date: July 26, 2023

It’s An Inside Job
David Freund, Chief Leadership Officer

The difference between a winner and a whiner is that whiners wait to do something until they feel like it, and winners do something so they feel like it. The truth in that statement is revealed every day in the actions of successful people. Let’s face it, everything worthwhile is uphill, and sometimes we just don’t feel very motivated to start the climb. Life is hard, and we often have more to get done than hours in the day. Is there any hope? Since leaders are dealers in hope, we need to offer ourselves some hope. This hope comes from the reality that motivation is an inside job. We must build into our life the motivation needed to stay on track.

You know yourself the best, so ask yourself the following questions:

  1. Am I in an environment that challenges me to grow and improve? Too many people suffer from destination disease. They look at life from the standpoint of achieving a goal and being finished. The best way to cultivate a growth mindset is to switch from asking ‘how long will this take?’ to ‘how far can I go?’. When we are finished growing, we are finished.
  2. Am I living my life with anticipation and a forward-looking focus? If we work in a stale environment, we will have trouble waking up excited. Start engaging with people who are forward-focused people. People who see a brighter future and don’t want to spend their days redesigning the past. Yesterday ended last night. It wasn’t as good or as bad as we remember. Get over it and move on.
  3. Am I working within my Working Genius or Working Frustration? In 2022 Patrick Lencioni released his 6 Types of Working Genius assessment tool. Each job can be divided into six types of work. Wonder, Invention, Discernment, Galvanizing, Enablement, and Tenacity. Each of us has two areas that are a genius for us, two areas that are competency, and two areas that are frustration. When we work in our genius areas, we are energized and excited to put in large amounts of effort. When we work in our competencies and frustrations, we burn out.
  4. Am I spending enough time resting? This can be a difficult area to manage. When our energy is drained, it needs to be restored. We need to REST. Rest includes sleeping enough, taking time off away from the distractions of work, and taking breaks within the day to allow our brains to reset. These breaks might include a quick walk, listening to an inspiring podcast, or simply sitting quietly to think. Whatever works best for you, build that into your day.

If you answer these four questions and establish a plan to implement your answers, you will have the energy and motivation to achieve some amazing results. If the 6 Working Genius concept has piqued your interest, reach out to me, and I will be happy to explain it in more detail. We also will be hosting a class on September 14th from 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM. Have a great week and get busy building motivation into your life.