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The 12 Week Year — Chapter-03: The Emotional Connection
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Chapter 3 The Emotional Connection Effective execution isn’t complicated, but it’s not necessarily easy, either. In fact, most people and companies struggle to execute well. Execution invariably requires taking new actions, and new actions are often uncomfortable. When faced with a course of action that includes difficult or uncomfortable tasks, the short-term costs of taking action can seem so much greater than the long-term benefits of reaching the goal. Because of this, individuals and entire organizations often abandon both the tasks, and ultimately, the entire strategy. We have found from experience that to execute successfully it is essential to have a strong emotional stake in the outcome. Without a compelling reason to choose otherwise, most people will take comfortable actions over uncomfortable ones. The issue is that the important actions are often the uncomfortable ones. In our experience, the number-one thing that you will have to sacrifice to be great, to achieve what you are capable of, and to execute your plans, is your comfort. The secret to living your life to its potential is to value the important stuff above your own comfort. Therefore, the critical first step to executing well is creating and maintaining a compelling vision of the future that you want even more than you desire your own short-term comfort, and then aligning your shorter term goals and plans, with that long-term vision. Think about what you truly want to achieve. What legacy do you want to create? What do you want for yourself and for your family? What do you want spiritually? What level of security do you seek? What level of income and fulfillment do you want from your career? What interests do you wish you could pursue? What do you really want to do with the time you have been allotted?
If you are going to perform at a high level, take new ground, and be great, then you better have a vision that is compelling. In order to achieve a level of performance that is greater than your current performance, you will need a vision of the future that is bigger than the present. You must find a vision with which you are emotionally connected. Without a compelling vision, you will discover there is no reason to go through the pain of change. “Behind every impossible achievement is a dreamer of impossible dreams.” —Robert K. Greenleaf Vision is the starting point of all high performance. You create things twice; first mentally, then physically. The biggest barrier to high performance is not the physical manifestation but the mental creation. You will never outpace your mental models. Vision is the first place where you engage your thinking about what is possible for you. You must be clear on what it is you want to create. Most people focus primarily on their business or career, but business is just part of life, and it is actually your life vision that gives traction and relevance to your business. That is why we begin with your personal vision, what you want your life to look like in the future. After that is established, we move on to what your business needs to look like in order to align with and enable your personal vision. The more personally compelling your vision is, the more likely it is that you will act upon it. It is your personal vision that creates an emotional connection to the daily actions that need to take place in your business. In order to tap the incredible power of your vision you need a future that is bigger than the present. If you’re going to create a breakthrough—if you’re going to reach the next level—you will need to move through fear, uncertainty, and discomfort. It is your personal vision that keeps you in the game when things become difficult. A compelling personal vision creates passion. Think about something that you are passionate about, and you will always find a clear vision behind it. If you find you’re lacking passion in either your business or in a relationship, it’s not a crisis of passion; it’s a crisis of vision. We will show
you how to craft a compelling personal vision and a business vision that aligns with and supports your life goals. “All my life I wanted to be somebody. Now I see I should have been more specific.” —Lily Tomlin The first step is to create a personal vision, a vision that clearly captures and articulates what you want in life. The personal vision should define the life you want to live in all areas, including spiritual, relationships, family, income, lifestyle, health, and community. The personal vision creates the foundation for an emotional link to your business and career objectives so that there is a strong alignment between what you pursue in your business and the life you desire to live. Your business vision is most powerful when it is developed in light of your personal vision. The reason so many people fail to follow through when things become difficult is due to this lack of connection with their personal lives. Your business objectives are not the end in themselves, but the means to an end. Too often, managers and associates plan for business success but fail to connect with the real power source that will enable them to achieve that success. In essence, the personal vision is the reason why we work in the first place. Once you understand the linkage between your life vision and your business success, you can define exactly what level of income or production your business must deliver in order to support your complete vision. Vision provides you with that line of sight, that emotional link, to help you overcome the challenges and execute. When the task seems too difficult or unpleasant, you can reconnect with your personal objections and vision. It is this emotional connection that will provide you with the inner strength to forge ahead in spite of any difficulties, thus enabling you to achieve your dreams and desires. Your Brain and Vision
The brain is an amazing organ. As David Frost once pointed out “It starts working the moment you get up in the morning and doesn’t stop until you get into work.” Our brains are wonderful, powerful, and inconsistent. Due to its multiple functions, sometimes your brain can seem to be working at cross-purposes with itself. Have you ever felt like your brain was in conflict with itself? If so, you’re not alone (or crazy). There is some groundbreaking research that explains what you’re experiencing and offers powerful insights on how you can use your brain more effectively to live the life you desire. Researchers have found that a portion of the brain, the amygdala, reacts negatively when we are facing uncertainty and risk. This response is quite helpful in avoiding danger and staying alive. Unfortunately, when we imagine the future as being vastly different from today, we experience uncertainty because we don’t know how to create and maintain the future we are imagining. When this happens the amygdala kicks in. That’s when the part of our brain that avoids risk gets in our way. It seeks to keep us out of uncertain and risky situations. When you start to envision a future that stretches your comfort zone and is significantly bigger and bolder than what you are currently living, the amygdala tries to shut down the process before you do anything that could be detrimental. That’s the bad news. At one level we are all wired to resist change and postpone greatness. The good news is there is also a portion of your brain, called the prefrontal cortex (PFC) that acts as a counterbalance to the amygdala. The PFC lights up when you look out over open vistas, and interestingly, when you imagine greatness for yourself in the future. Scientists can track increased electrical impulses in the PFCs of test subjects when they think about a compelling future. Research has also shown that our brains have a powerful capacity to change. In the past, scientists thought that our brains were essentially static after we became adults, but they now know that the brain can change over time. The areas that we use frequently actually grow in the density of neural connections and in size. This capacity for our brains to change is called neuroplasticity. Here’s why it’s such a big deal: Your brain has the ability to change and develop physiologically, and it does so based on how you use it.
That is good news and bad news. The bad news is that unless you intentionally engage the PFC, you are by default, relatively strengthening the portion of your brain that resists change and keeps you stuck. The good news is that you can change your brain simply by what you think about. You have the ability to strengthen and develop your brain by thinking about a compelling future for yourself, by regularly and repeatedly thinking about an inspiring vision where you emotionally connect with the life you desire. And here’s what may be the best part; when you think about a compelling vision, the neurons that fire in your brain are the same neurons that fire when you act on your vision. What that means is that you can literally train your brain to act on your vision just by thinking about it. The first step, though, is creating an inspiring vision and learning how to stay connected with it. “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” —Mary Oliver