Last week I was moderating a panel at the Harvard Business School GCC Crossroads Forum in Riyadh. My panel topic was ‘National Talent and Human Capital’ and my panelists were a who’s who of regional CEO’s with a wealth of experience in the education space. The conference spanned two days and there were many wonderful and inspirational speakers however, if asked to give one take away that stuck with me from the whole event, it was a comment made by one of my panelists, a prominent Emirati CEO and investor. He said (and I paraphrase): “We should aspire to go to sleep in peace, and wake up excited”.
I love this concept however if I am honest, I am not yet living it fully. My current modus operandi, approx. 50% of the time, is probably closer to “I go to sleep with things on my mind, wake up in the middle of the night with things on my mind, get back to sleep and wake up slightly stressed and ready to do battle!”
I’m sure that resonates in some way with many of you, and it’s not where we want to be.
The World Health Organisation attributes stress as the root cause of approx. 70% of illness. Stress lowers our immune system making us more susceptible to illness and thereby lowering our personal productivity. I am fortunate to have a strong immune system and for 15 years I have taken 1000mg of Lysine supplement to help boost my immunity. Maybe it’s become self-fulfilling because I rarely get ill (and I never caught covid). I swear by Lysine.
Equally I swear by positive affirmations. We can all focus on what is wrong with our situation or what we don’t have, however this just promotes stress. If we are indeed to “sleep in peace” we need to have control of the thoughts we focus on, and that links into “waking up excited”.
Every year I update my recommended reading list which I share with my students when requested (I’m happy to share with you also, email me if you’d like a copy). One book which has been there since the first draft is Robin Sharma’s ‘Greatness Guide’. My favourite takeaway from that text is “do something every day that takes you a step forward towards your goal”.
Having goals, objectives, projects – call them what you will, gives us a purpose. Our purpose should drive us forward, it should excite us. If it’s not, then you’re leaving life on the table and not maximising it. I get that some people are happy with that equilibrium. I think it’s a shame to waste our opportunities; we won’t have another turn once our time is up.
Having thought about the sleep/peace/excited concept over the past week, and my current (unsatisfactory) 50% success rate, I have decided the following: Interim target is to achieve this state 90% of the time with an eventual target of 100%. This will be achieved by refocusing on my goals, connecting with the passion that drives them and the feelings associated with achieving them. Early signs are that this definitely helps kick out the negative talk and allows sleep with a positive mindset. Try it yourself and let me know how you go!
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