Over the past couple of weeks we've been diving into the leadership traits we need to embrace to successfully lead ourselves to our goals. We've covered 5 of the 14 traits thus far. To catch up or freshen up on them, these links will help you do just that...
Leadership 199 / Trait 5 of 14: Endurance
Leadership 199 / Trait 4 of 14: Decisiveness
Leadership 199 / Trait 3 of 14: Courage
Leadership 199 / Trait 2 of 14: Bearing
Leadership 199 / Trait 1 of 14: Dependability
I can't wait to get on to the next one so let's not waste a moment and jump into our sixth trait…
Leadership 199 / Trait 6 of 14: Enthusiasm
Defined: The display of sincere interest and exuberance in the performance of duty.
Discovered: When starting a mission to get healthy most of us are stoked and full of enthusiasm. Sure, some start their missions less enthusiastically, under duress more likely, due to peer or family pressure, perhaps medical needs dictate lose weight now or perish. But for most, once we've mustered the courage and decided we're going to do this, we can't wait to get started and achieve our goal.
That rush of 'can-do', that desire to 'make it happen', that thirst for 'how to' knowledge; all of those highs we feel are brought upon us in that wave of enthusiasm we've embraced when we start. Some of us will recognize early on the role our enthusiasm plays in our mission and work just as hard to keep it up as they will at meal planning and getting in exercise. Others will not look that deep into what is required to be successful and likely wont notice the correlation in the fade of their results with the drop in their enthusiasm.
They key to enthusiasm, is your sincerity for what you want to achieve. Regardless whether your desire is for a need or a want, when you truly desire that something, the probability that you'll attain it increases 396 fold, or more.
Huh? That is crazy talk you say? Yes, you really do want to lose weight. You know you should do so, and you have a good reason why you want to? Great, so can I. Does that equate to sincerely desiring to doing it? Nope, it is the spark of enthusiasm, but it is not going to ignite into the fire storm needed to get this done unless we feed that spark.
Ok big boy, how do we do that you say? At least I hope that's what you said. Perhaps some of you chose to chuckle at what I've scribbled out here thus far and feel more like heckling in reply to my thoughts. If you did, bravo for you, this is your lucky day!
So many times I started an effort to lose weight, all of those times I figured I knew what I needed to do and success was just a matter of doing those things and that's it. Sound familiar? Someone who is supposed to know hands you a sheet of paper with a 1800 calorie a day diet on it, pats you on the head, and wishes you well; happened to me some fifteen years ago courtesy of a doctor who figured just because he is a doctor he had the answers I sought. Or, you buy an exercise video with a zillion exercises that will have you looking fine in no time, just so long as you do the exercises.
Ok, those failed me. What failed you? Better yet, why?
The answer for me, in large part, is that I did not sincerely want this. More specifically, I did not know that my building my enthusiasm for what I want is as important as doing the work to get it.
Sincerely defining a purpose, not just a reason, for this mission, amps up our enthusiasm.
Sincerely understanding what we need to do and how to do it, amps up our enthusiasm.
Sincerely believing in ourselves, seeing ahead to what achieving it will bring us, amps up our enthusiasm.
Sincerely acknowledging the benefits of success and the side-effects of failure, amps up our enthusiasm.
Sincerely celebrating accomplishments, tasting victory (not via cup cakes), amps up our enthusiasm.
Da-Point: Interest plus Purpose times Belief divided by Sincerity equals Enthusiasm.
Have you done the math on your mission?
Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!
Posts
This is a great post, Patrick and just what I needed to hear. I'm lacking in enthusiasm as related to getting into shape and now I know what I need to do to get my enthusiasm back. I need to remind myself about why I want it and what the benefits are and what the repercussions are if I don't rebuild some of the muscle mass I've lost. I'm going to get some kind of movement in today.
ReplyDeleteI really needed this Patrick, thank you. I lack belief in my equation, sincerely i do. And i have asked myself why. Do i not think i deserve this? Do i really not believe i am capable? I don't know the answers yet, but this blog post has been very helpful in making me think
ReplyDeletexx
lesley
When I first started reading this post, my initial thought is that enthusiasm is fleeting. As you said, in the beginning, we're all about gettin' it done but then it fades and so do the results. Especially for people like me who don't muster much enthusiasm about anything. It wasn't until the last line...the equation...that I realized that I have maintained my enthusiasm since 8/15/10. That's a LONG time to maintain enthusiasm for someone like me. I actually think blogging has helped maintain the enthusiasm over time...having a cheering section certainly helps also. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI've been at it for a year, and I believe I've maintained my enthusiasm, mostly because I gave myself mini goals to be enthusiastic about. Each time I reached a goal it became a success and I had something new to be excited about.
ReplyDeleteNow that I'm so close to my ultimate goal I've had some concern that when i get there I will lose the enthusiasm and find Doritos, so I've set some new goals, something for after I lose as much as I need to. Something really big and that I have to work even harder for.
In general, I'm learning to develop an enthusiasm even for the things I hate to do. Why? Because doing those things will enhance/improve my life even though I can't care for the actual task of getting them done. The enthusiasm part kicks in when I see/enjoy the fruits of my labor.
ReplyDeleteI am more enthused in the gym than some people care for! ;-) Well, with the weights!!!! Great post Patrick!!!
ReplyDeleteYOU GO Mr. Enthusiasm!!!
This is a wonderful post, Patrick.
ReplyDeleteWith this attitude you will succeed in no time.
Allow me to translate this post into Polish and send it to my brother in law who desperately needs help.
I think too often people confuse inspiration for enthusiasm. Inspiration just happens. Enthusiasm and motivation are more closely related. They need to be cultivated, nurtured, re-tooled regularly, and to do that, one must keep them in constant sight.
ReplyDeleteI am not perfect, but I do "enthusiasm" pretty well when it comes to my physicality because, like my child, I never take my eyes off my enthusiasm.