The Power of Full Engagement | Part 2


The Power of Full Engagement | Part 2

by Gavriel Shaw

Take pen to paper and answer 3 questions:

  • How excited are you to get to work in the morning?
  • How much do you enjoy what you do for its own sake rather than for what it gets you?
  • How accountable do you hold yourself to a deeply held set of values?

”Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather he must recognise that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life: and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible” – Viktor Frankl

… because we value it for the inherent satisfaction it provides – intrinsic motivation.

So long as we skim across the surface of our lives at high speeds, it is impossible to dig down more deeply. People cannot move horizontally and vertically at the same time.

The next step in defining purpose is to create a vision for how we intend to invest our energy. A compelling vision statement…

Until we can clear away the smoke and mirrors and look honestly at ourselves, we have no starting point for change. Maverick psychiatrist R D Laing captured this cleverly in a short poem:

The range of what we think and do
Is limited by what we fail to notice
And because we fail to notice
That we fail to notice
There is little we can do
To change
Until we notice
How failing to notice
Shapes our thoughts and deeds

The Shadow Self

  • Carl Jung coined the term ‘shadow’ to describe those aspects of ourselves that we split off because they violate our self-image.
  • Freud characterised repression as the means by which we exile unwanted feelings into our unconscious.
  • In Buddhism, the form of meditation known as Vipassana aims at overcoming our instinct for delusion by learning to see things exactly as they are.
  • Robert Assagioli said we may move from a feeling of “I am overwhelmed by my anxiety’ to ‘My anxiety is trying to overwhelm me”. In one, we are victims. In the other, we have the power to make choices and take action.

Anthropologist Gregory Bateson said “There is always an optimal value beyond which anything is toxic, no matter what: oxygen, sleep, psychotherapy, philosophy” Too big a dose [of truth] can be overwhelming, and even self-defeating.

We’re running on an endless treadmill. Rituals create boundaries. We need completions.

If our rituals become too rigid, unvarying and linear, the eventual consequences is boredom, disengagement and even diminished passion and productivity.

Our dual challenge is to hold fast to our rituals when the pressures in our lives threaten to throw us off track, and to periodically revisit and change them so that they remain fresh.

No element as important as that os specificity of timing and the precision of behaviour during the thirty to sixty day acquisition period.

Our conscious capacity for self-control is limited and easily depleted.

Among those who had the precise deadline, 75% handed the reports in on time.

Nearly 100% of those who designated when and where they would do the exam completed it. ONly 53% of the other group did so, despite equally strong intentions to conduct the exam.

When they were asked in advance to specify precisley what they intended to eat for each of their meals during the day, rather than using their energy to resist eating certain foods all day long.

Specificity and precision.

The less thinking people have to do under adverse circumstances, the better.

The key is not how we make the connection to our purpose. Rather it is assuring that we do so in a regular way.

Our method is to build rituals in increments – focusing on one significant change at a time., and setting reachable goals.

Growth and change won’t occur unless you push past your comfort zone, but pushing too hard increases the likelihood that you will give up.

Building confidence fuels the persistence to pursue more challenging changes. We call these ‘serial rituals’.

Two behaviours dramatically increased the likelihood of successfully locking in new rituals during the typical thirty to sixty day acquisition period.

  • Chart the course -
  • Chart the progress – holding yourself accountable at the end of each day… regularly facing the truth about the gap between your intention and your actual behaviour.

Defining a desired outcome and holding yourself accountable.

Until clients feel some discomfort about their current circumstances, they are rarely inclined to change.

Jump ahead to the end of your life: What are the three most important lessons you have learned?

4 sources of energy

  • Physical capacity is defined by quantity of energy (low to high)
  • Emotional capacity is defined by quality of energy (negative to positive)
  • Mental capacity is defined by focus of energy (
  • Spiritual capacity is defined by force of energy

Sustained high performance is best served by assuming the mentality of a sprinter not a marathon runner.

Most of us are undertrained physically and spiritually (not enough stress) and overtrained mentally and emotionally (not enough recovery)

Energy capacities follow developmental lines:

  • First level of development is physical
  • Second level of development is emotional/spiritual
  • Third level of development is cognitive/mental
  • Fourth level of development is moral/spiritual

A corporation or organization is simply a reservoir of potential energy that can be recruited in the service of an intended mission.

Leaders are the stewards of organizational energy.

Great leaders recognise that high positive energy is the fuel for high performance. Every aspect of their leadership clearly reflects this understanding.

Most important physical energy management strategies

  • Go to bed early and wake up early
  • Go to sleep and wake up consistently at the same times
  • Eat five to six small meals daily
  • Take breaks every ninety minutes during work

Originally posted 2009-10-25 12:15:05.

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