July 31, 2018

Renew Ourselves And Optimise Our Effectiveness

Each one of us need to pause from time to time in our ever-busy lives and work to renew ourselves. We become so caught up with our busy schedules that we lose the edge of our effectiveness. It is important that as leaders, we consciously spend time and energy ‘honing’ ourselves and our skills. If we want to renew ourselves and optimise our effectiveness, we have to focus on the four dimensions – physical, spiritual, mental and social/emotional.

Physical Dimension

The physical dimension is all about having a balanced exercise program addresses three areas – endurance, flexibility and strength. Firstly, endurance. It can be improved through cardio exercises, stimulating the heart rate and delivering oxygen to our body. Secondly, flexibility. It can improved by stretching muscles so the body can better handle strain without tearing. Last but not least, strength. It can improved through resistance exercises that increase the body’s ability to perform the physical exertion required safely and efficiently, while executing our work and leisure activities.
Spiritual Dimension

This dimension is the core of our lives, our centre and commitment to the value system that provides the basic ‘leadership’ in our lives. It’s a very private area of life and a supremely important one. It draws upon the sources that inspires, uplifts and tie us to the timeless truths of all humanity.
Mental Dimension

Mental development comes through education – formal and informal. Without a study discipline, our minds can atrophy. The information age demands continuous learning in all forms. However, we must ask a key question: Are we learning things that will help us grow?
Social/Emotional Dimension

Our emotional life is primarily developed out of and manifested through our relationships with others. Renewing our social/emotional dimension requires focus and exercise in our interaction with others. It is centred on the principles of interpersonal leadership, empathetic communication, and creative cooperation.

To renew ourselves, we need to recognize the costs of our energy depleting behaviours and then take responsibility to change them using the four dimensions. Only by doing so, we can get into a flow, produce high-quality work and achieve much more throughout our day.