Seriously Energized: How Clarity and Focus Override Overwhelm To Give You More Energy

Want to know how to defeat overwhelm? Know that it doesn’t stand a chance against the power packed pair of Clarity and Focus. These two rule the business world. They are not just nice to have, they are critical must-haves. If they’re not on your team, you’re probably spinning your wheels and going around in circles with very little to show for all the effort. Ouch!

In this article I share tips for staying out of overwhelm by maintaining sharp clarity and focus. Easier said than done? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide after reading. I think these tips are pretty easy to do and make a huge impact.

We all know that we make better decision with a cool head. We know that mental focus is essential to getting things done. But do we honestly give clarity and focus the credit and attention they truly deserve? I think not.

Staying seriously energized about your business helps keep you clear and focused and the opposite is also true – Staying clear and focused helps keep you excited and energized about your business, like the woman in the picture above.

This kind of energy for your business moves mountains and really get things done. This is how staying clear and focused also keeps you moving forward, especially in the midst of the inevitable chaos and confusion that comes with running a growing business.

I love the picture because it shows the type of energy we need to bring to our businesses every day in order to grow and expand.

Do you remember a time when you felt seriously energized about your business? I mean jump up and down energized!

You felt capable of handling just about anything you could imagine coming up in your business. This may have been when you first started, but hopefully it’s been more recent than that. Either way, most entrepreneurs would admit it’s not happening every day. 🙁 (sad face)

The spark, the fire, the passion, where is it most days?

Can we find it shoved in a corner or buried under a pile of “all important” paperwork?

Sometimes the answer is yes. And yet knowing this isn’t the energy we want to bring to our business, we go through the motions day after day. Do you see where this is going? It’s nowhere good. So let’s turn it around.

Let’s get more of the spark-fire-passion back into the forefront. Let’s move it up from the background of your business. But first we start with getting more of it back into you and getting more of it back into you starts with a check-in.

Check in with yourself today using the following:

On a scale is 1-10 with 10 being the best:

How would you rate your Clarity today? Anything less than an 8 is less than adequate and needs work.
How would you rate your ability to Focus on your highest priorities today? Anything less than 8 needs work before attempting to focus on your business.

Use the 2-question check-in anytime you’re not feeling clear and focused in your business, and anytime you’re feeling distracted or disconnected from your mission.

Then once you have your number you can decide if you need the brain-reset exercises. As a general rule, if your number is less than 8 for either question, opt for the reset. Your work that follows will be much more inspired, focused, and joyful. It’s a gift you give to yourself and your business.

Here is my system for a brain-reset. I recommend doing all three things in the order given, but if you can only fit in one or two, feel free to do whatever accommodates your schedule. Something is better than nothing at all. You can derive big benefits from small efforts done consistently over time, especially from the last choice (#3).

Boost brain power by taking a 10 min walk. This is not fiction or theory. To the contrary, there are numerous studies that have shown that foot impact increases the blood flow to the brain. Running has this affect even more so than walking, but won’t be as gentle on your joints. So get out there for a 10-minute brain-reset-walk and enjoy increased blood flow to your brain. Productive day, here you come.
Also drink 8 ounces of water when feeling mentally fatigued. It’s not surprising brain function declines without adequate hydration. Water helps transport oxygen and nutrients critical to the brain for optimal function. Have an important task or project that needs your focus? Drink 8-16 ounces of water first, even if you’re not thirsty. It’s not for your thirst, it’s for your brain function. So drink up.
Enjoy a 15 minute meditation in a quiet space. Let me first clarify that meditation doesn’t have to mean sitting quietly doing nothing, being bored, and trying to stop or your control your thoughts. I’m not good at anything that involves me being still and quiet. That’s why I seriously love Kundalini Yoga mediations. They are rarely the sit still type. Kundalini Yoga meditations are active mediations. If you haven’t tried active mediation before, you’ve have to give it a try. It’s a meditation that gives your body and mind and mouth something to do. These 3 brain boosting meditations from Spirit Voyage are a few of my faves. Another serious fave is the Kirtin Kriya. It’s supposed to have a big impact on balancing the brain, and improving memory and focus. I find it’s absolutely true for me. I probably go back to this one more than any other meditation. It’s also being studied by the scientists at the University of Pennsylvania to determine if it creates actual changes in the brain. It will be interesting to read the results.

Now that you’ve gotten the cobwebs out of your head and got more oxygen to your brain, as well as have gotten yourself in to a calm and relaxed state, you’re ready to reconnect to your business, your mission, and your vision.

Here’s another check-in. This time we’re checking in with yourself to see how you feel about your business. Answer each question with Yes / Somewhat / or No:

When I read or think about my mission and vision, I’m re-energized to the max and can’t wait to get back to work on whatever problem needs solving.
I use my mission, vision, and values to raise the energy level of my team each and every day.
My mission and vision need work and aren’t quite the re-energizing tools I need them to be, for me and/or my team.

This is where the rubber meets the road; where we take ownership of what’s truly true for us. Being able to answer yes to questions 1 and 2 are signs that you are a great leader headed in the right direction. Answering yes to number 3 is the norm though. Which is why I bring this topic up so often.

Upon further review most of us can admit that our mission and vision needs more work in order to do more heavy lifting in our business because we’re still feeling the burden of overwhelm.

More clarity and focus around mission and vision will bring about more clarity and focus around the problems you’re trying to solve. When you’re not sure about how to solve them, your approach is slow and uncertain, making it take even longer to solve the problem. Decisiveness is a sign that overwhelm is not present just as lack of decisiveness is a sure sign that overwhelm is present.

Remember to check in with yourself and do the brain-reset exercises before using your brain to work on problem solving. You’ll receive increasing returns on the investment in yourself.