Sustainable Success
Sustainable success
To be successful you must be able to sustain your efforts over decades.
Anything that is truly valuable takes decades to achieve.
- If you want to build a successful business, it will take years, not months.
- If you want to build a championship performance, it will take years of sustained effort.
- If you want successful relationships, you want them to last for years, not months.
To be successful you must "play the game" for years. So therefore, you must work in ways that are sustainable.
In this respect there are two ways that people fail.
- Some people don't work hard enough. The consequences of laziness are obvious.
- Other people work too hard, for too long. The consequences of working too hard, are not obvious. But they are very real. The consequences are mental and physical overwhelm and the eventual collapse of mind and body.
In order to be sustainable, your efforts must fall within the middle ground between the two extremes. This means working hard, with sufficient rest and recuperation.
Working too hard
Do you know anyone who pushes themselves too hard?
They work until they collapse. They fall ill, then they slowly recover. The moment they feel recovered, they immediately go back to overworking again.
The formula for disaster is: Work, work, work, work, work, work, collapse.
If you are in this cycle you must do the following three things:
- Recognise the futility of the cycle.
- Commit yourself to change.
- Replace the cycle with the success formula, of a sustainable working practice.
Sustainable Working
Sustainable working means you work hard; then you rest and recuperate; then you return tomorrow and work hard again; then you must STOP working and go home and rest.
The formula for success is: Work, rest, work, rest, work, rest.
Balance work and rest
Remember that you are a limited resource facing an unlimited demand. If you work too hard for too long, you will exhaust your limited reserves of mental and physical energy and you will experience a meltdown.
Therefore, you need to respect the laws of your nature and work in ways that will allow you to keep winning for decades to come.
Moderate the intensity, duration and frequency of your work effort.
Balance work and rest.
About the Author: Chris Farmer
Chris Farmer is the founder of the Corporate Coach Group and has many years’ experience in training leaders and managers, in both the public and private sectors, to achieve their organisational goals, especially during tough economic times. He is also well aware of the disciplines and problems associated with running a business.
Over the years, Chris has designed and delivered thousands of training programmes and has coached and motivated many management teams, groups and individuals. His training programmes are both structured and clear, designed to help delegates organise their thinking and, wherever necessary, to improve their techniques and skills.
Blogs by Email
Do you want to receive an email whenever we post a new blog? The blogs contain article 5-10 minutes long - ideal for reading during your coffee break!
Further Reading in Personal Effectiveness
-
How to improve your personal effectiveness
How to improve your personal effectiveness Your personal effectiveness is a measure of your ability to add value to yourself and others. How can you improve your personal effectiveness and thus make yourself produce more valuable work, per day, in less time and effort? Let us say first that personal effectiveness...
Read Article > -
Take Pride in Yourself
Don't confuse pride with arrogance. You can feel good about yourself without being big-headed. Don't let your thoughts become a self-fulfilling prophecy, use self-determination to empower yourself.
Read Article > -
Self-Control
Be the master of your own destiny. You need to master yourself before you can master a situation. Therefore you need self-control. Your success is dependent on two things: everything you do, and everything you say.
Read Article > -
How can I improve my performance?
How can you improve your performance? Question: Do you think that you have reached the peak of your possible potential? Or rather would you like to think that you have yet to discover and actualise the true extent of your powers? Are you as good as you can get, or have...
Read Article > -
Water: Your Essential Partner for Outstanding Workplace Performance
Water: neglected yet essential. Beyond quenching thirst, it fuels workplace performance with biological intricacies. Don't underestimate its power in our demanding professional lives.
Read Article >
Looking for Personal Development Training?
If you're looking to develop your Personal Effectiveness Skills, you may find this Personal Development Training Course beneficial:
Open Training Course Pricing and Availability
Next Open Course Starts in 4 days, Online - Teams, places available