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No t e b o o k:
JOURNAL
A u t h o r:
farhanmweb@gmail.com
Cre at e d :
11/7/2016 10:45 AM
Up d at e d :
Lo c at io n :
11/17/2016 12:26 PM
Managing energy, not time, is the key to enduring high performance, health, happiness, and life
balance. The number of hours in a day is fixed, but the quantity and quality of energy available to
us is not.
THE DYNAMICS OF FULL ENGAGEMENT
A New Paradigm:
Energy is the fundamental currency of high performance
Every thought, feeling, and actin has an energy consequence
Energy is simply the capacity to do work (physical quantity, emotional quality,
mental focus, spiritual force)
The ultimate measure of our lives is not how much time we spend on the planet, but
rather how much energy we invest in the time that we have
Measuring energy
Greatest Physical Quantity:
low volume -> high volume
Highest Emotional Quality:
negative -> positive
Clearest Mental Focus:
broad -> narrow
external -> internal
Maximum Spiritual Force:
self -> others
external -> internal
negative -> positive
The more we take responsibility for the energy we bring into the world, the more
empowered we become
Having rituals is way better than having self-discipline
Imagine that every time you did sloppy work on a project, you put someones life at
risk. That is called being accountable for the energy you bring out to the world
Life must be lived as a series of sprints: fully engaging for periods of time, and then
disengaging and seeking renewal before repeating the cycle
High positive energy flows from the perception of opportunity, adventure, and
challenge (approach)
Negative energy is created by the perception of threat, danger, and fears about
survival (avoidance)
The 4 Principles of Full Engagement:
Principle 1: Full engagement requires skillful management of four separate but
related sources of energy: Physical, Emotional, Mental, Spiritual
Principle 2: Because energy capacity diminishes both with overuse and underuse, we
strength:
endurance:
flexibility: broad range of muscle motion. Action = Stretching
resilience:
Exercising is a powerful way to detoxify negative emotions and to mental renewal
Physical energy is the fundamental source of fuel, even if our work is completely
sedentary!
Physical energy lies at the heart of alertness and vitality. It affects our ability to
manage our emotions, sustain concentration, think creatively, and maintain our
commitment to mission
Factors that determine our physical energy reservoir:
The patterns of our breathing
Deep smooth rhythmic breathing is simultaneously a source of energy,
alertness, focus as well as of relaxation, stillness, and quiet
The foods that we eat and when we eat them
Low glycemic index foods: whole grain, protein, strawberries, pears,
apples
Eat 6 whole, raw, green meals daily (every 3 hours)
Eat only as much as you need to drive your energy for the next 3 hours
Drinking water (64oz) is the most undervalued source of physical
energy renewal. By the time you feel thirsty, you are way past being
dehydrated
The quantity and quality of our sleep
7-8 hours of sleep daily
Going to bed early and waking up early help to optimize performance
The degree to which we get intermittent recovery during the day
Between 3 or 4pm we reach the lowest phase of both our ultradian and
our circadian rhythms
20 minute nap in between the day (sometime after lunch)
Change Channels and disengage from work -> step away and go for
a walk, listen to music and eat, 10 min yoga +10 min breathing
exercises
Limit weekend work to two periods - early morning Saturday, and late
evening Sunday
To sustain full engagement, we must take a recovery break every 90120 minutes
The level of our fitness
Strength training + Cardiovascular training
Avoiding stress is just as destructive to capacity as excessive stress
without recovery
Metrics:
strength
endurance
flexibility: the capacity to move freely and appropriately along a wide
spectrum of emotions, rather than responding rigidly or defensively
resilience: ability to bounce back from experiences of disappointment,
Trust
Metrics:
strength: ability to quickly organize amidst chaos
endurance: ability to sustain focus and concentration over time
flexibility: the capacity to move between the rational and the intuitive, and to
embrace multiple points of view
resilience
complete disconnection is a powerful source of mental renewal
Learning something new regularly pushes us to develop the mental muscles that
serve performance
Positive self-talk
A single negative thought is what gets you hit in the face - Boxing
champion Ray Mancini
Positive thinking generates mental energy. Negative thinking sucks
out mental energy
Rituals:
write perceived threats in a journal & then recast them as
challenges/opportunities.
ask what is the worst case scenario? Will I survive it?
write a gratitude list of things you feel thankful and appreciative
for
Effective time management
Managing time is not an end in itself. Rather it serves the higher goal
of effective energy management
Creativity
creativity is an oscillation between analytical thinking (left brain,
engagement) and bigger-perspective imaginations (right brain,
disengagement)
step 1: insight (or the initial inspiration)
step 2: saturation (or gathering information in a methodical, step by
step way from multiple sources)
step 3: incubation (or mulling over the ideas)
step 4: illumination (or the breakthrough)
step 5: verification (or analyzing, codifying, and translating the creative
breakthrough into rational accessible language)
Rituals:
painting, yoga breaks (2x10m daily)
Changing channels mentally permits different parts of the brain to be
activated and facilitates creativity
Systematically build mental muscle capacity by devising rituals to push past your
current capacity...and then recover (just like building your biceps)
Almost all of the time, people get their best ideas when they are in a relaxed
state - shower, nature walk, meditation, resting
The greatest geniuses sometimes accomplish more when they work less
(and take completely-disengaged breaks in between) - Leo da Vinci
Much as it is true physically and emotionally, the brain needs time to recover
from exertion while learning new information or having new experiences
SPIRITUALLY ALIGNED - the most significant source of energy
Metrics:
strength: commitment to ones deepest values, regardless of circumstances or
personal sacrifice
endurance
flexibility: the tolerance for values and beliefs that are difference than ones
own, so long as those values dont bring harm to others
resilience
Spiritual = connection to a deeply held set of values and to a purpose beyond your
self interest
Spiritual energy provides the motivation for us to spend our physical, emotional,
mental energy. It is a unique force for action in all dimensions of our lives. It is the
most powerful source of our motivation, perseverance, and direction
Expanding spiritual capacity requires subordinating our own needs for something
beyond our self-interest
It is a mark of courage to set aside self-interest in order to be of service to others or
to a cause
Paradoxically, self-absorption ultimately drains energy and impedes performance.
The more preoccupied we are with our own fears and concerns, the less energy we
have available to take positive action
It does not really matter what we expect from life, but rather what life expects from
us. We need to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead think of ourselves
as those who are being questioned by life - hourly and daily. Our answer must
consist not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life
ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answers to its problems
and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual - Viktor Frankl
What man actually needs is not a tensionless state, but rather the striving and
struggling for a worthwhile goal, a freely chosen task - Viktor Frankl
We are much better than we know. We have unrealized capacities that sometimes
only emerge in crisis. The purpose of suffering is improvement" - Lance Armstrong
The key muscle for spiritual energy:
Character
It is the courage and conviction to live by our values, even when doing
so requires personal sacrifice and hardship
Supportive spiritual muscles:
Passion
Commitment
Indecisiveness, people-pleasing, and lack of assertiveness are spiritual
obstacles
The solution is self care:
set aside time before the event and visualize the event
going successfully
when an issue arises, step back and ask yourself: what
do i really believe here?, and then listen to your
instinctive response
when agreeing with a point of view too readily, step back
and ask yourself: who am i trying to please here?
Integrity
Doing what you say you are going to do when you say you are going to
do it
Lack of integrity is a spiritual obstacle
The solution is self care:
ask two key questions before saying you are going to do
something:
Is this something i need to do myself?
If yes, when does it need to be done, and can i
reasonably do it by then?
Honesty
Telling the truth to yourself and to others
Meditation, Prayer, and Yoga cut into all 4 dimensions and simultaneously build capacity as
well as provide recovery
STAGE 1: DEFINING A PURPOSE BEYOND YOUR IMMEDIATE SELF INTEREST
Jump ahead to the end of your life. What are the three most important
lessons you have learnt and why are they so critical?
Take breaks often to stop and smell the roses, and appreciate their
existence - because life will pass us by quickly and swiftly if we move
continuously from one thing to the other
The warrior lion with heart dominates the terrorizing hunter tiger
eventually. Knowing this helps during the down times when the lion is
getting terrorized
Stressing about things is completely useless and does absolutely ZERO
benefit to you. This is critical because I can focus precious energy
towards positive goals instead
Think of someone that you deeply respect. Describe three qualities in this
person that you most admire.
What one sentence inscription would you like to see on your tombstone that
would capture who you really were in your life?
I will accept with open arms the love that I get from everyone and the divine
I will work 10 pomodoros (organized by priority) every work day
I will fight against adversity with courage and never give in..never ever give in
I will be open to learning from the universe - I will observe and fully engage
or completely disengage
I will control and be aware of my breath while getting out of my head
I will fully embrace opportunities to mentor and nurture another being
Step 4: Create a personal and professional vision statement - It will create a
blueprint for how to invest your energy
"Above all else, I live true to myself and my intuition no matter how hard the
circumstances may get. I completely accept and embrace my feelings. I fight
with a lions heart for what i believe in and never ever give in, but remain
open to learning and growing. I do what I say I will do and when I say
I will do it. As a craftsman, I fully commit to structured hard work and
embrace the apprentice grind - so as to provide abundance and joyful
experiences to my loved ones. I accept with open arms the love that I get
from everyone and the divine, and am grateful for it. I openly embrace
nurturing opportunities to be of service to others. I either stay fully engaged in
the real world in a state of relaxed alertness (by being aware of my
breathing), or in a state of pure strategic disengagement - no in-betweens"
Rituals:
Revisit your vision statement every morning
STAGE 2: FACE YOUR TRUTH - UNDERSTAND & ACCEPT YOUR PRESENT SITUATION
Each of us has an infinite capacity for self-deception
Denial is effectively a form of disengagement
Both denial, and self-deception require energy, which is then no longer available for
more productive activities
At the most basic level, we deceive ourselves in order to protect our self-esteem (our
image of who we are or who we wish to be)
The central defect of evil is not the sin, but the refusal to acknowledge it
Methods of denial:
Numbing out with drugs and alcohol
Rationalization - assuming our view represents the truth, when it is really just
a lens through which we choose to view the world
Intellectualizing
Projection
Pessimistic attitude (imagining the worst in every situation)
Anger and impatience
Failure to oscillate
To face the truth also means to acknowledge and celebrate our strengths
Facing the truth requires making yourself the object of inquiry
Conduct an audit of your life
How fully engaged are you in your work? What is standing in your way?
3 - spending time away from my newly married wife whom i
feel responsible for, working for someone who i do not respect,
working for someone who does not acknowledge my existence,
not freely choosing the work i am doing, not interested in the
work i am doing, no sure whether this is the work i want to
commit myself to for life, not willing to put in the effort into
mastery
How closely does your everyday behavior match your values and serve
your mission? where are the disconnects?
not closely at all. The disconnects are almost everywhere.
Besides structured work, remaining open to learning, and
occasional focus, and nurturing, there is disconnect in:
authenticity
dont say what i feel
am not assertive
am not sincere
am not honest
complain internally
i have self-doubt
doubt my capabilities
doubt my feelings
i dont really grind and hustle
skip the alarm
dont work 10 pomodoros
dont accept the love of the divine and of everyone
am not happy
do not show vulnerability
dont have gratitude
do not pray
dont really serve others joyfully
complain internally when i do serve and nurture
am almost never fully relaxed alert
self-absorbed
do not disengage completely
self-absorbed
How much negative energy do you invest in defense spending frustration, anger, fear, resentment, envy - as opposed to positive
energy utilized in the service of growth and productivity?
How much energy do you invest in yourself, and how much in others,
and how comfortable are you with that balance? How do those closest
to you feel about the balance youve struck?
How much energy do you spend worrying about, feeling frustrated by,
and trying to influence events beyond your control?
I need a lot of work here.
id say a 3
My key performance barriers (here build your first set of small incremental
rituals):
every morning, write down your virtue statements along with your
affirmations
during your commute home, make a call to someone you care about father, mother, siblings, friends
first two hours of work - highest leverage items only. No email, no
messages.
become more rigorous about your breaks
have lunch with one of your direct reports once every week
when under pressure, take deep breaths, and ask yourself what would
someone who is cool and the shit do?" and act as if
90-120m of intensive effort followed by shorter periods of recovery and
renewal (over 40 years)
To build capacity, first increase stress in physical domain, then in
emotional domain, then in mental domain, then in spiritual domain
To initiate change, first increase stress spiritually (connect to a
purpose), then build mental rituals, then emotional , then physical
go to bed early and wake up early
go to sleep and wake up consistently at the same times
minimize simple sugars
get some physical activity daily
Eat Almonds, Apples, Beans, Cabbage, Cashews, Cherries, Chicken,
Apricots, eggs, walnuts, green vegetables, lentils, milk, protein shakes
Eat ranges, peaches, peanut butter, peanuts, pears, pecans,
pistachios, plums, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, tuna, turkey
Minimize bagels, baked potatoes, breads, cakes, candy, carrots,
cereals, cookies, corn chips, cupcakes, dates, donuts, french friends,
crackers, pretzels, sodas, wafers, waffles, watermelon
Building the small muscles
PHYSICAL
get 7-8 hours sleep
eat 5-6 nutritious small meals a day
exercise strength & cardiovascular in High Intensity
Interval Training
drink 3L of water a day
EMOTIONAL
practice patience through deep belly breath breaks often
be open to spontaneity and flexible schedules at fixed
intervals
build trust in yourself and in others and in the divine
learn to let go and enjoy at fixed intervals - play table
tennis
MENTAL
visualize how you will handle a stressful situation in detail
before heading into it
write perceived threats in a journal & then recast them
as challenges/opportunities
write a gratitude list of things you feel thankful and
appreciative for
switch between 50m of high intensity logical work and
10m of creative relaxation
SPIRITUAL
Practice telling the truth to yourself and eliminating
exaggerations
always do what you say you will when you say you will
take small baby steps of courage when you fear doing
something
be persistent in everything you do
Building the big muscles
PHYSICAL
Cardio exercise
Core exercise
Shoulder and Back exercise
Legs Exercise
Arms Exercise
EMOTIONAL
Live each day guided by your own deepest values instead
of worrying about what others think of you
Revisit your self-confidence affirmations daily
Practice moderation in everything you do
build deeper intimacy though scheduled
dinner/lunch/talking dates with friends and family
spend time volunteering and listening to others
MENTAL
Visualize your positive ideal self
Think through the day ahead in the minds eye
Prioritized work day-plan: urgent-important matrix
Pomodoros of focused time chunks
Practice creative exercises
SPIRITUAL
Practice stepping back and asking yourself what do i
really believe in here?
Revisit your vision statement and your primary values as
often as possible daily
positively devote time and energy in service to family
volunteer your time in service to others
Alignment across physical, mental, emotional, spiritual dimensions is what drives
performance