Have You Checked The Gauges of Your Life ?

SalesManUp


Have You Checked The Gauges of Your Life ?


“ Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony. “ - Thomas Merton


Over twenty years ago, speaker and pastor Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Church, wrote a life-altering article about “ Reading Your Gauges “. No matter what your belief system is, Bill’s message is chock full of sound wisdom for any human being who's living in the twenty first century. His words are especially true for people like us - sales professionals who are constantly on the move . No movement, no commissions. Equally true- no rest, know burnout.


Bill paints the picture that each of us have at least three primary gauges on the dashboard of our life. There is a spiritual, a physical and an emotional gauge. Each gauge shows us how much fuel we have. These gauges need to be constantly monitored so we can stop,“fill up “ ; and keep our vehicle ( ourselves ) running in an optimum manner. Let’s take a look at each of these gauges.


Spiritual gauge. Do you have a belief system ? For me, my faith is at the core of who I am , and serves as the operating system for everything else in my life. My practice, in order to keep this tank full, is to engage in daily prayer, meditation and reading of scripture and other positive resources. I find that this tank fills up when I intentionally take time to reflect, be inspired by God’s fingerprint in nature, and connect with other positive people who hold to the same beliefs and convictions. If I neglect this gauge, I can become distant , cynical and want to withdraw and isolate. I can lose my bearings and feel a sense of purposelessness. Keeping this area of my life full, gives me focus and direction. What does your spiritual gauge read ?


Physical gauge. Living healthy does not happen by accident, it must be intentional. We can expend so much of our energy pouring ourselves into our jobs and responsibilities, that we allow our physical battery to run down. Stress can manifest itself in various ways, like developing poor eating habits, packing on extra pounds because we haven't carved out time to exercise. When we are fatigued, it is easy to reach out to artificial stimulants to keep us pumped up and moving ( like coffee… guilty on that one. ).  When was the last time you rested on the beach under an umbrella or kicked back on a balcony overlooking the mountains ? Do you have a meal plan or exercise tracker to help you stay fit ? Do you plan time into your schedule for leisure walks, resistance training or restorative yoga ? What is your physical gauge reading ?


Emotional Gauge. This can be one of the most neglected areas of our life, because it is so easily overlooked. Hybels writes, “ I have committed myself to installing an emotional gauge in the center of my dashboard and learning how to read it. I take responsibility to manage the emotional reservoir in my life. When my crisis hit, I didn’t realize my reservoir was depleted until I ( 1) began to feel vulnerable morally, (2) found myself getting short and testy with people, and (3) felt a desire to get out of God’s work. Suddenly I knew the tank was nearly dry. “ ( Christianity Today, Spring 1991 )


Bill shares about  intensive situations where he had to be confrontational, or engage in deep counseling sessions or exhausting teaching series. Sometimes he endured long board meetings dealing with significant financial decisions. All of these things drained him emotionally and were wearing him down. Do some of these activities sound familiar to you  ? Intense situations. Air travel. Driving in crazy traffic. Multiple presentations. Public speaking day on end? Tons of emails and phone calls to return. Quotas and numbers to achieve. Significant forecasting and reports due on specific deadlines. Pressure from upper level management. Do you think some of these things might deplete your emotional tank ? Do ever you feel depleted or drained at the end of the day ?


So how do we recharge our emotional tank ? Bill believes it requires a  “ slow , consistent charge “ , like charging a battery. It is not an immediate charge, like a pit stop in a NASCAR race, with changing the tires, refueling , and accelerating back onto the racetrack again. What recharges your emotional battery ? Each person is different, but for those of us reading this blog, it will definitely be something other than sales. For some, it might mean four hours on a beautiful green golf course. For others, retail therapy ( shopping ) and a day at the spa might be the ticket. What activities rejuvenate you ? It might be a trip out of the country to an all inclusive resort, or a cruise to a tropical oasis. Find out what makes you smile and brings you joy. This might mean rediscovering a hobby that you gave up to pursue your career in sales. For my wife and I , lately, it has been shore fishing in Florida. No great prizes to mount on the wall yet - mostly just feeding the fish with our bait ; but I cannot put into words the feeling of standing ankle deep in cool salt  water a few yards down the beach from my wife, and watching the sun in all of it’s glory  come blazing up over the Atlantic.


Do yourself a favor and check those gauges on the dashboard of your life. How do they read ? Are you pegging on “ E” in some areas ? Be intentional today about filling up those tanks and start  moving those gauges to “ FULL”. Safe travels.


“ Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time. “ - John Lubbock