The Power of Full Engagement

About the Author:The authors, founders and executives of LGE Perfomance Systems, an executive training program based on athletic training programs, offer a program aimed at stressed-out people who want to find more purpose in their work and ways to better manage their own energy levels. "Balancing stress and recovery is critical, not only in competitive sports, but also in managing energy in all facets of our lives. Emotional depth and resilience depend on the active participation of others and our own feelings."

This book teaches us how to seek our maximum productivity, to do so it tells us that we must control and maintain our energy to the maximum and in order to have the necessary energy to carry out our tasks we must not neglect aspects such as habits and routines, energy, rest and recovery.

These authors show that the key to achieving goals and performing at our best lies not in time management but in something much more powerful: energy management and balance. To be a truly efficient person and contribute to your work, your family and all your goals you have to learn to assess and understand your energy levels.

We all have the same amount of time in our day, we have the same 24hrs and the same 1440 minutes and usually this is not enough to deal with all our responsibilities, however, there are people who manage to do much more in this period of time. So what is it about this group of people that allows them to accomplish multiple daily goals?

We live in a society obsessed with time, if something doesn't work people think that by spending more time on it they can start to work, for example, if a student doesn't understand something the normal advice would be to spend more time studying. But there is a problem, time is a fundamentally limited variable, the real growth does not come by increasing the quantity of time, what really needs to be increased is the quality of time. To become individuals who live an optimal life we have to understand that in order to improve it is useless to simply increase the number of hours we spend in an activity, but what is important is to understand how to align our energy levels with quality time and thus maximize all our results.

Our body and mind are naturally linked to an oscillatory functioning, that is, you can not have a peak of energy throughout the day, rather there is a rhythmic behavior between activity and rest, we have to stop seeing our day as a linear element and start seeing it as a cyclical element that is guided by a rhythm; this is what you have to understand despite what society dictates. You can't run at top speed for an hour and you can't be absolutely focused for four hours, we have a limited amount of energy and to achieve the best results you have to know how to use and how to fill this tank. A balance between intense activity and intense rest will give you the balance you need to perform at your best when the occasion demands it. Your day has to be a series of intense action periods accompanied by intense recovery periods. Remember to cycle your day and order it to meet your energy demands.

The goal is for you to get into a rhythm of fully occupied periods and then strategically unoccupied periods. In this world that celebrates and rewards work and activity it is important that we also recognize energy recovery and renewal so that you can live a high performance life. You need to understand these two principles: too much activity without recovery leads to exhaustion, too much recovery without activity leads to atrophy. We can use the ultradian rhythm as a reference, following this cycle intense activity is done in 90 minutes periods, this is where you discharge all your energy during 90 minutes all your levels are at their maximum, your concentration, your endurance and your creativity are at their highest point. But this progression has to be accompanied by an intense rest, so for 20 minutes your body and mind need rest and recovery time where you can renew your energy.

The goal is for you to get into a rhythm of fully occupied periods and then strategically unoccupied periods. In this world that celebrates and rewards work and activity it is important that we also recognize recovery and renewal of energy so that you can live a high performance life. You need to understand these two principles: too much activity without recovery leads to exhaustion, too much recovery without activity leads to atrophy. We can use the ultradian rhythm as a reference, following this cycle intense activity is done in 90 minutes periods, this is where you discharge all your energy during 90 minutes all your levels are at their maximum, your concentration, your endurance and your creativity are at their highest point. But this progression has to be accompanied by an intense rest, so for 20 minutes your body and mind need rest and recovery time where you can renew your energy.

Schedule your day according to this cycle and start seeing results, remember that during your 20 minutes of rest you are free to rest and recover as you see fit, but once you are done get ready to enter 90 minutes of full commitment!

Jim Loehr discovered this principle by observing his clients, mainly professional tennis players, as there were players who excelled in amazing ways yet he didn't understand what set them apart. So he separated these clients into two groups, the high achievers and the low achievers with mediocre results, both groups had great athletic ability, all studied the game of tennis strategically and devoted the same amount of time to daily training. There was no apparent difference, but after a month of analysis Jim was finally able to observe what differentiated them: the successful players oscillated between each point and each set, disconnected, sat down, lowered their shoulders, relaxed their body and stared into the void. After this Jim studied the heart rates of these players and realized that, consciously or unconsciously, the high performers had built in moments of absolute rest where their energy was renewed and they could enter each point with greater power; this clearly gave them an advantage especially at the end of a match. In conclusion, this is where the fundamental advantage of the high performance group lies, knowing when to be fully engaged and when to be fully recovered.

The book explains about the source of energy divided into four parts, each being a particular source that must be learned to develop and renew:

1st Physical Energy.

That is, everything that is linked to your body, your diet, your health, your physical condition, your sleep periods. We must ask ourselves these questions: do you exercise regularly, do you get enough sleep and quality sleep?

2º Emotional Energy

That is, everything that is related to your emotions, your emotional intelligence, your emotional state during the day, your relationship with negative emotions. We must ask ourselves these questions: do you feel positive emotions regularly?

3º Mental Energy

That is, everything related to your cognitive abilities, your concentration, your retention, your creativity, your self-control. We must ask ourselves these questions: are you able to concentrate for prolonged periods of time, or are you losing focus quickly and getting distracted?

4th Spiritual Energy

That is, everything that is related to your purpose in life, your values, your ideals, your mission and your contribution. We must ask ourselves these questions: how is your motivation, do you have a purpose in life, and a clear set of values that drive your actions?

If your level in these types of energy is low, you are solely responsible for increasing it, you must make an honest assessment of your current situation.

This will give you the tools to know what you need to work on to be fully engaged during your day, you need to be physically energized, emotionally connected, mentally focused and spiritually aligned with a higher purpose than your own interests.

Physical energy is our most obvious source of energy, without this type of energy we could do absolutely nothing. If you are tired all the time you probably need to raise this energy. There are three pillars to raise your physical energy: the first point is exercise and breathing, try to do some physical activity at least 30 minutes a day, going for a run is always a good option, as for breathing do deep breathing exercises that allow you to expand your lung capacity. The second point is to sleep well, prepare a ritual before going to bed to help you fall asleep faster and relieve all the worries of the day, for an adult the ideal is that you can rest between 7 and 8 hours. And the third point is healthy nutrition, during a day eat 5 to 6 small portions of healthy food and drink 2 liters of water a day. Because the better you nourish yourself, sleep well and take care of your body with exercise, the more physical energy you will have at your disposal.

Emotional energy is linked to all the emotions we experience during our day. In order for you to perform at your optimum level you have to develop the ability to access your positive emotions, feeling enthusiasm, interest and joy will allow you to raise your emotional energy. In contrast, negative emotions that are linked to toxic instability, for example: fear or worry, anxiety, ..., can negatively affect this type of energy. The positive emotions you generate fuel all your activities, if your day is full of negative emotions you may notice that they are draining you of energy. What you need to do is start to:

• Explore: what activities you can integrate into your day that make you happy.
• Schedule: these activities and do them in a disciplined way.
• Execute them: on a daily basis to elevate your positive emotions.
• If it doesn't work? Go back to step 1 and look for new activities.

These small moments where you radiate positive emotions are essential to renew your emotional energy.

Mental energy is related to the ability to concentrate 100% on what you are doing, in order to enter a state of full engagement you have to develop the ability to be attentive, this ability to focus like a laser beam on what you want, when you want and the amount of time you want, concentration is one of the most important skills you can develop. If you are easily distracted or simply have a hard time paying attention it means you need to increase your mental energy. Beware of certain social networks that are designed to divert your attention as much as possible and limit your ability to focus on anything for long periods of time.

This book defines spiritual energy simply as the force that drives you to action, this energy is the motivation that drives you to act in a particular way. You could have all the physical energy, all the emotional energy and all the mental energy but without a defined purpose you will have great difficulty in sustaining your actions over time. Many people take care of themselves physically, they have a good job, however, the motivation is sporadic, without a sense of purpose it is extremely difficult to have a constant motivation. What is the reason you get up every day, what is it that makes you leave your room? The clearer and more precise your answer the easier you can navigate this life, when you have a reason to exist, when you have an ultimate vision so high that in your entire life you will never reach it is at that moment when you find your purpose.

Spiritual energy comes from 2 sources: your purpose in life and the values that compose you. Finding these two elements in your life is not an easy task, it may take you months or years, however, the authors of this book developed an exercise to accelerate the process and find your values. Do this exercise with all honesty and openness, find a time in your day where no one will disturb you and focus on digging into your own mind. Imagine the end of your life, you are remembering everything you lived, now think of the 3 most important lessons you learned and describe why they are so important, then think of the person you respect the most, a person you really admire, describe the three qualities that impress you the most about that person; third describe what kind of person you were when you were at your best, what virtues you projected in your best moments and finally think of your tombstone, what would you like to be written on that piece of stone, how would you like to be remembered. This exercise may seem difficult and it is, these questions are complicated to answer, but to elevate your spiritual energy and reconnect with your purpose and values you have to deeply question these elements.

Remember the four sources of energy: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual; start scheduling powerful routines during your day, write down what you are going to do, how you are going to do it and what you are going to do it for. You will notice that this simple exercise of writing down your goals in a journal will allow you to commit on a deeper level to your routines, establish powerful habits that feed your energy sources and keep you moving towards a higher quality of life.

I've been where you are now before, too. When I started my dream of setting up my own Medical Clinic and was the CEO, I didn't know how to fulfill my responsibilities at work and still be present at home with my family. However, after making changes in my productivity, goal setting and leadership, I was able to take my company forward through an economic recession the country was in and achieve positive results; all while being home in time to have dinner with my family every night.

I now teach the same principles that helped my leadership, along with my team, here at CIME Academy.

If you want to know more about our training proposal in aesthetic medicine, we encourage you to contact us. We will solve your doubts and advise you on what you need.

Dr. Manuel Rubio Sanchez

aesthetic doctor