What can you do when you ‘hit the wall’ and nothing seems to be working?
welcome to monday
Some Mondays I wake up and no matter what I do I just can’t go on. Other times I get to Thursday and my energy is just gone.
I think being in business or selling can be a lot like running a marathon. You’re doing a lot of things all the time, and sometimes, as a long-distance runner, your body and mind can get overwhelmed and “hit the wall.”
Dick Beardsley, a marathon runner, speaking of hitting ‘The Wall’ said: “It felt like an elephant had jumped out of a tree onto my shoulders and was forcing me to carry it the rest of the way.”
There are three types of energy that fuel your life. When one, or more, of these energy sources are running low, you’re up against ‘the wall’. Fortunately, these power sources are linked, and there are simple strategies to get you moving again.
power house 1 – chemical energy
This is the physical energy that your body stores to run your body every day. Even when you’re not doing anything, your body consumes vast amounts of chemical energy pumping your blood, digesting your food, and maintaining the cells that make up your body.
power house 2 – emotional energy
This is the energy of enthusiasm that brings joy to life. The smile of a child, the feeling of love, the happiness you feel when your soccer team wins. Everything you say and do is affected by your emotional energy, whether it is positive or negative.
power house 3 – mental energy
This is the energy of creativity. When you set a goal without knowing how to achieve it, and you do it, you use mental energy. This is the energy of problem solving, decision making, report writing. In fact, your mental energy resources are a determining factor in the quality of life you have.
Each of these energy sources is closely related to the other two.
- A five minute outburst of uncontrolled anger (negative emotional energy) can burn the same amount of physical energy as an eight hour day.
- A 30-minute walk (chemical energy) can generate the same amount of mental energy that is used in a full day of workshop to develop the sales plan for the next year.
- Receiving a phone call (because maybe he sent you a flower?) from someone you love (emotional energy) just before a physical challenge or a difficult mental task can recharge both sources of energy.
When I ‘hit the wall’ and nothing else works, I stop and ask myself “Which of my three sources of energy is dragging me down?”
Usually the answer is obvious.
- It may be that I have not taken the time to develop my physical reserve.
- It could be that I haven’t been spending enough time with the people I care about, or
- I have set my goals in such a way that I cannot achieve victories along the way.
Today’s question and actions.
Are there moments when you ‘hit the wall’ and feel the elephant on your shoulders? Here are some things you can do to help.
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Get out of the 9 to 5 mentality and decide ‘now is the time’. Stopping a workshop at 10 am for a 30 minute walk is much smarter than wasting a day of planning.
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Know your body chemistry. Start the day with a good nutritious meal. Replenish your body chemistry regularly with a balanced diet so you can keep your physical energy at high levels.
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Develop your emotional energy by spending time with people who appreciate you. Stop and ‘smell the roses’ and allow time to enjoy your life.
The more energy you have, the happier and more productive you will be.
Have a nice week!
August 27, 2012
By Gregory Ferret
