Let’s pick up where we left off yesterday with considering how we practice self-care through practicing the rejuvenating principles of the five “R’s” as presented by Michael Hyatt. In case you missed yesterday’s post, the five “R’s” are: Rest, Refreshment, Recreation, Relationships and Reflection. I compared these five “R’s” to my seven principles of Life Management yesterday, and if you want to see the parallels, you can read or reread yesterday’s post. Remember, too, Hyatt’s premise is we can’t manage time, because it is a fixed reality. What we can manage is our energy. Through practicing the five “R’s” effectively, we increase our overall energy, which allows us to use our time optimally, and increase our overall productivity.
Let’s look at Hyatt’s second “R”: Refreshment. Hyatt uses the word refreshment to refer to food and drink. It is one of the three aspects of physical care in my seven principles of Life Management. Hyatt points out that he is neither a dietician nor a nutrition and that hundreds of plans for proper eating are out there. He points out a few simple truths when it comes to Refreshment: 1) We need to reduce our intake of high glycemic carbohydrates such as bread, pasta, potatoes and processed foods containing high fructose corn syrup and processed sugar; 2) We need to increase our intake of low glycemic carbohydrates such as legumes, most vegetables, sweet potatoes, and rice; 3) we need to get our protein from meats that have been grilled rather than fried, or coated with high glycemic carbohydrates; and 4) we need to drink a lot of water. Hyatt recommends drinking half the number of ounces of water as your weight in pounds each day. (For example: if you weigh 200 pounds, you need to drink 100 ounces of water.)
None of this is news to anyone who has been practicing even a modicum of self leadership in the area of “Refreshment.” As with Hyatt’s advice concerning rest, there is nothing groundbreaking here. This is common sense advice, we all know, but few practice. I have gone through seasons in my adult life when I practiced Life Management effectively in all seven areas, and in those seasons my energy was high and my effectiveness increased. Certainly, when we rest well on a regular basis, getting enough sleep each night, and taking regular brief naps during the day, and practice eating healthy foods and staying hydrated through drinking water, our energy and productivity will increase. That is common sense.
It is also effective self leadership. the challenge is to do what we know to do, isn’t it? None of us can disagree that it is effective self leadership to rest enough and eat well, but how many of us do it? For many years, I have focused on the challenge of discipline. I know what to do, but I’m not disciplined enough to do it. Hyatt has a response to such thinking. He calls it self-defeating thinking. After all, if I say, “I know what I need to do, but I’m not disciplined enough to do it,” then I’m saying I am going to fail at self-leadership. Hyatt points out that we need to stop seeing practicing these rejuvenating activities as a discipline to be exercised. They are rather freedom producing behaviors. They free us to live energized, productive lives.
For me the difference in those two perspectives is huge. After all, when I’m telling myself I don’t want to practice the discipline I “have” to practice in order to be healthy and effective as a leader, I’m convincing myself that it’s a battle I am eventually going to lose. When I see those activities as stepping stones to greater self leadership, greater health, effectiveness and productivity it makes a difference. 3,000 years ago, King Solomon of Israel said, “As a man thinks in his heart so is he.” How we think whether men or women, how we see ourselves, becomes what we are.
I’ve been taking Hyatt’s approach to self leadership over the past several days, and I can already sense the difference. Rather than thinking about my lack of discipline, I’ve been thinking about the freedom I’m going to experience when my energy level increases, when I’m back at my old “playing weight,” and when my key relationships are stronger, including my relationship with God. As we consider self leadership, managing our energy becomes a major factor in seeing ourselves grow. While each of us is unique, and varying personalities may have a different response to the concept of energy management as opposed to time management, I hope this framework helps you to become more effective in your own self leadership
Tomorrow, we’ll take a look at another of Hyatt’s means of managing our energy, so we will become more effective at using our time and more productive in our lives.
Here’s to leading better by using the refreshment of food and drink effectively–today!