Sustaining Your Interest (Part 2/3)

After making your entry, you will proceed to the second phase called Sustaining. What will you do to stay interested? How do you keep your business running? Many people progress to a certain point, and then begin to experience diminishing gains. Generative leaps become incremental gains, or even stasis. They reach a stalemate before getting a checkmate. Distractions and disruptions usurp their sense of direction. What started off as a sprint, now, has to be paced like a marathon. Large strides have to make way for smaller, high-cadence footsteps.

From research and observation, we realize that enthusiasm begins to wane after the start of a new pursuit, position, hobby, lifestyle shift, or business. This is when engaging and activating your motivational strategies become crucial. When you begin to lose track of the bigger picture, or falter due to new challenges, then you will need to sustain your interest. How would you assure that?

1)    Fix your eyes on your expected results (eye on the achievement and accomplishment).

2)    Focus on enhancing your performance (don’t fire them, fire them up!).

3)    Earn your results through your team.

4)    Engage the your core values to help sustain you (endurance, persistence, purpose, patience, determination, optimism)

5)    Review your sense of purpose (what and why did I choose this?).

6)    Review your motivation.

7)    Monitor your energy, and notice when it begins to fade (use EFT, change your physiology, eat well and natural foods).

8)    Seek inspiration and encouragement from your mentors, teachers and guides.

9)    Encourage and assure others, especially when they are beginning to slide.

When running a race, how do you continue to feed your body, as you keep moving? Malnutrition can severely affect your physiology (mental, emotional and physical condition). It can also affect your position and business. How do you stay engaged, engaging, and engage others in the process?

Read this article by HBR about the Seven Seismic Shifts that can affect the performance of an emerging leader.

Leadership Lessons: what are your contingency plans? How do stay motivated? How are you driven by your purpose? If the expected outcome differs from your original, what will you do to continue in your quest? How will you overcome obstacles, curve balls and unpleasant surprises? What are you doing to nourish your mind and body?

There should be no dead-ends at this point of the process. Keep moving. Stop being assimilated by the environment of negativity and naysayers.