The Art Of Full Engagement

Tough times necessitate creativity, so on some level perhaps the universe is stimulating us all to find more creative ways of living our lives – experiencing them in our own individual ways, as only we can. With that gauntlet thrown down, we need to explore new ideas that open up greater possibilities for us that might not necessarily involve the old paradigm of time and money. Jim Loehr, in his book The Power of Full Engagement, encourages us to think of our lives in terms of energy, saying “Energy, not time, is the fundamental currency of high performance”.

Loehr points out that, while it may seem obvious, we seldom take into account the impact of energy at work and in our personal lives. He adds “Without the right quantity, quality, focus and force of energy, we are compromised in every activity we undertake. Every one of our thoughts, emotions and behaviours has an energy consequence, for better or for worse. The ultimate measure of our lives is not how much time we spend on the planet, but rather how much energy we invest in the time that we have.”

Before you moan that life seems to conspire to drain your energy, Loehr has that point covered too, saying “There are undeniably bad bosses, toxic work environments, difficult relationships and real life crises. Nonetheless, we have far more control over our energy than we ordinarily realise. The number of hours in a day is fixed, but the quantity and quality of energy available to us is not. It is our most precious resource. The more we take responsibility for the energy we bring to the world, the more empowered and productive we become. The more we blame others or external circumstances, the more negative and compromised our energy is likely to be.”

Loehr asks “If you could wake up tomorrow with significantly more positive, focused energy to invest at work and with your family, how significantly would that change your life for the better? As a leader and a manager how valuable would it be to bring more positive energy and passion to the workplace? If those you lead could call on more positive energy, how would it affect the quality of service they deliver to clients and customers?”

Defining energetic full engagement, he notes “To be fully engaged, we must be physically energised, emotionally connected, mentally focused and spiritually aligned with a purpose beyond our immediate self-interest. Full engagement begins with feeling eager to get to work in the morning, equally happy to return home in the evening and capable of setting clear boundaries between the two. It means being able to immerse yourself in the mission you are on, whether that is grappling with a creative challenge at work, managing a group of people on a project, spending time with loved ones or simply having fun. Full engagement implies a fundamental shift in the way we live our lives.”

OK, so it’s not going to be as easy as it first looked. Full engagement is going to demand a commitment to playing full tilt at whatever you’re doing, not just going through the motions. It’s going to ask that you set the boundaries that allow you to say ‘no’ to what drains you and to say a whole-hearted ‘yes’ to the things that energise you. It’s going to require that you stand up for your life.

If creativity feels like it’s failing you right now and you don’t even know where to start, begin by looking at examples of lives you admire and at people you know who show up fully, whatever they’re engaged in. Creativity isn’t always about making something entirely new, but in combining existing things in new ways. Maybe you already have the building blocks of the life you want, but you haven’t quite got them in the right order yet.

The artist Michael de Meng – who makes extraordinary post-modern sacred shrines from the mundane items that make up our daily lives – says “In my view, creativity is rampant thievery mixed with reinterpretation … I see the act [of creativity] as being like a martini shaker, in which you add all those ingredients that you like or admire. Three parts Picasso, two parts Joseph Cornell, seven parts Mexican folk art, a splash of abstract expressionism and garnish with a twist of Dadaism.”

This week, what’s going into your cocktail shaker? What would it take for you to show up fully-charged in every area of your life? How can you keep your energy high in mind, body, heart and soul? Who has a life you’d want? Who has a way of being you’d like to emulate? What’s the purpose beyond your own immediate self-interest that you could get juiced-up about? Come on, it’s going to be a big year. It’s time to bring you’re A-game – do you know what that looks like? Even more importantly, do you know how to sustain it?

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