Ep 98: Winning the Day
Every morning when I wake up, my goal is to win the day. To me, winning the day means being in a better position when the day is over than when the day started. It means progressing myself, even if just by a small increment. The idea of winning the day is something that helps me maintain a high level of productivity, and it drives me to work hard each day.
When you are working as hard as you can at something, you are going to go through seasons where maintaining that level of work ethic seems overwhelming. I believe that anyone who has a passion for something and puts a lot of time and effort into it is going to experience seasons of burnout.
I’m guilty of falling into seasons of burnout as well. I have high goals and standards for myself, so when I am working as hard as I can to meet those standards, it can be easy for me to not realize when I am on the verge of burnout. In busy seasons, my mind slips into survival mode. When it seems like there are not enough hours in the day, I do everything I can just to get by.
Over the years, I’ve learned that having this ‘just get by’ mindset about work and productivity isn’t healthy. You can only do what you can do. I know that people in this industry tend to be very mentally tough, which is an asset. However, at times, our mental toughness can mask our physical burnout until we reach a point where our bodies shut down and force us to slow down.
When you get to a point of burnout, you have to allow yourself to recharge your batteries and not feel guilty about it. For most of my life, I thought if I took a break to sit down for lunch, I was wasting time. Now, I realize that little moments of rest are essential to staying productive. Restoration is vital to maintaining a high level of productivity, as well as to protecting your mental, physical and emotional health.
When you start getting burnt out and overwhelmed, the quality of your work is often the first thing to suffer. With horses, for example, I can tell that I am getting burnt out when my signals start to become less sharp and less accurate. In times like this, I have to challenge myself to forget about the time on the clock. I have to slow down and take the time and give my horse the time to read my signals and find the answer. As with horses and life, we have to give ourselves the grace to find moments of rest.
I’ll be the first to say--it is hard to maintain that mindset long-term. We have been conditioned to seek instant gratification in all that we do. But, the thing we have to remember is:
It’s the little things you do, on a consistent basis, over a long period of time, that make a big difference.
Every day is a chance to shape and manage your life and business in a way that supports your goals and values. And sometimes, shaping your life in a way that fulfills your goals requires you to make changes.
By human nature, we are often resistant to change. But in order to progress in life, we have to be open to making positive changes. If you are currently experiencing a season of burnout, don’t be surprised when you realize that you need to make a change. If there is something in your life that is no longer serving you and propelling you toward your goals, you have to be willing to make that change for the better. At the end of each day, ask yourself: did _______ help me win the day today?
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