If we let ourselves, we can spend a lot of time of worrying. Worrying about finances, choices, our kids, and the list could be infinite. Unfortunately it’s highly unproductive. Worrying drains of us our time and our energy. Worry is another form of fear. We fear the unknown and the possibilities about what might happen. Worry will cloud your judgment, keep you up at night, ruin your health, and have a harmful impact on your relationships.
Truthfully most of the things we worry about will never happen and are possibilities that we have very little control over. Much of life is outside of our control. Accepting that do not have control over these things is a powerful realization. Instead focusing on what we can control and actions that we can take is significantly more productive.
A good friend of mine used to say that “Worrying is nothing more than spiritual nearsightedness.” I’ve always thought this was an incredibly profound statement.
When we have strong faith and belief, things will always work out. They might not work out the way we believe they should, but when we keep focus on what matters most we’ll always find that everything turns out the way it should. Adopting this mindset is incredibly liberating and calming.
For me, personally, my own faith gives me the ability to keep moving forward when things are difficult or I can’t see my next step clearly. It doesn’t mean that I still don’t worry. I’m human, so of course I do. But when I find myself worrying, I’m usually able to pull myself back to a calm place and trust that I am on the path I’m supposed to be.
If a person tends to be under aroused (low drive) then external pressure tends to improve their performance.
In fact, as external stress increases, their performance typically increases because outside pressures are pushing their arousal levels up.
On the other hand, for individuals whose arousal levels are already optimal, an increase in external pressure tends to lead to poorer performance.
And for individuals who normally have high drive or arousal levels, an increase in external pressure not only results in poorer performance but under extreme circumstances may negatively affect their health.
For these reasons, it is important to know yourself (and your team members), to know what types of approaches would work best to optimize performance, when working under pressure.
I’ve been following some of the health and longevity studies around heat and cold exposure. I don’t claim to be an expert on it, but the science seems to be quite compelling and worth keeping an eye on it.
1. The temperature exposure stresses the body which activates different pathways. A good analogy to this is when we stress our muscles, they tear, and grow stronger. The body and our cells seem to do the same.
2. Blood Flow- Much of our health revolves our bodies’ ability to transport nutrients throughout our body to the different cells. As we age our small blood vessels called capillaries tend not to function as well. This is important because our capillaries are where nutrients travel across the cell membranes delivering oxygen and nutrients while removing waste from our cells. If our cells cannot access the nutrients they need and remove the waste, they wither and die. There seems to be some indication that heat and cold exposure can help with this.
3. Heat Exposure causes the heart to beat faster and when done after a workout, can add a high metabolic caloric burn. The heart does this to try to circulate the blood to cool the body. In Scandinavian countries, sauna use is a normal part of life and seems to have positive health implications.
Don’t try anything reckless, but I would encourage reading into these subjects as more and more research is emerging.
When success is measured, it’s usually not the smartest or most talented people that are successful but the people that have the GRIT and fortitude to persevere when times are difficult. The combination of passion and perseverance ultimately leads to great success. This applies to everything: business, personal relationships, and life.
Most really successful entrepreneurs have stories about failing again and again until they figured the right formula. They have the grit and fortitude to continue on and look for solutions even when they’re probably facing enormous amounts of pressure and uncertainty financially and personally. The vast majority of people just don’t have the the grit it takes to soldier on through that difficult times.
Another good example is marriage and relationships. Every single relationship will face challenges and difficult times, but having the ability to continue forward committing to the relationship because it’s important is probably one of the factors that lead to long lasting, successful relationships.
When I’m building a team or bringing people into my life, this is one of the major character traits I’m looking for. I want people who will commit to getting the job done or being a good friend come what may.
If you’re looking for more scientific research on the topic, I’d recommend Angela Duckworth’s book, “GRIT”.
Trust is a difficult thing to quantify but nothing is more important. It’s the fabric that keeps teams, relationships, and societies together. In today’s world, it’s never been more difficult to build trust. We’re constantly bombarded with information, text messages, news, social media, email, ect…Even our governments and news media have never had lower trust ratings.
Here are just a few, simple principles that I have tried to identify to help build more trusting relationships with my family, friends, co-workers, and customers.
1. Consistency- Do you do what you promise again and again? There are no short cuts to building trust, but if you consistently do the right thing it will go a long way. Trust takes a long time to build, but can be broken quickly if your actions don’t match your promises.
2. Alignment of Interests- Having a conflict interest (especially financial), creates mistrust. If your family, friends, or customers do not believe that you are acting in their best interests it becomes difficult to trust.
3. Competency-Can you deliver what you promise? If you don’t have the capability to follow through, trust will be lost.
4. Own Your Mistakes- All people, companies, and even government leaders will make mistakes. Own those mistakes by acknowledging them and sharing how you’re going to do better.
Exclusivia is a big trust exercise. We are trying to transparently share ideas, tools, experiences that we think would benefit others. If we take shortcuts or break the trust of our members, Exclusivia could not exist.