MANAGING MY SPIRIT
Finding Motivation for
More Wake Up Eager Days

Finding motivation by devoting time in your busy leadership life toward strengthening personal and professional relationships is the Wake Up Eager Way.

Here it's called Managing Your Spirit & Well-Being.

These statements are key to finding motivation and are from the 22 Secrets Wake Up Eager Quiz. Click each link for development resources for that Secret:

10. I have a rewarding life beyond my work or profession.
11. I have a close group of professional contacts with whom I can discuss challenges and celebrations.
12. I do not have any relationships that drag me down.
13. I have a circle of friends/family that love, support and appreciate me for who I am, more than just what I can do for them.

CURAHEE...
The Power of Personal & Professional Support...

In this 3 minute+ video about an amazing solider finding motivation and inspiration coming back to life once he heard the rallying cry of his Unit.

Yes, there is power (and life) in community and sharing a common bond with others, that's why it's part of the Wake Up Eager Way!

Get a tissue... I needed one, and you might too.

You probably have known one or two "lone wolves" in your life, in fact you might even feel like one.

But the truth is that the majority of us are social animals. If we truly are interested in finding motivation, and keeping it, we got to spend time cultivating our own sense of community and our connections with others.

The Gallup Organization, through over 8 million interviews, determined that people who have a 'best friend at work' are seven times as likely to find motivation, be engaged, interested and committed to their job.

And interestingly, on the flip side, without a best friend at work, Gallup says that your chances of finding motivation, being engaged in your job, are 1 in 12!

If you rated yourself low in this finding motivation Managing My Spirit and Well-Being area you may notice:

• You may not have much to talk about outside of work.
• You may not have people that you can call at the last minute to 'just talk' or grab a quick coffee.
• Your may lose your community of Support when life circumstances change, such as a move to a new job or city or a change in a significant relationship.
• You may not a "be a match" anymore, for some of your friends and colleagues from years ago.
• Feelings of isolation.

I remember moving to Atlanta in the early '90's. I'd lived in a smaller South Carolina town for most of my life.

I was excited to get to a bigger city (Atlanta, Georgia). Once I got here I was surprised how much I missed being seen by people who knew me. I missed the feeling of community I'd had in my hometown.

It was a new and strange feeling for me. I had a hard time finding motivation without this sense of connection.

Statistics tells us that during our teen years we spend nearly one-third of our time with friends.

For the rest of our lives, the average time spent with friends is less than 10%.

Over the years I've found that statistic to be true for me.

To make improvements I've been consciously focused on being on the "look-out" (yes, I've stalked people I thought were interesting!) for people I could connect with and get to know, beyond just running into them at meetings every other month.

I've had to take what felt like 'risks' sometimes.

I've invited new acquaintances over for dinner or initiated ongoing lunch meetings, all in an effort to cultivate a stronger network of friends an colleagues.

Gallup also says that people with at least three close friends at work are 96% more likely to be extremely satisfied with their life.

What have you done lately to build your work and personal relationships? Are you managing your spirit and well-being?

Here are resources for finding motivation and inspiration and for this Managing My Spirit & Well-Being area. I'm sharing resources that have helped me.

I add new articles and resources often. To be notified of updates, click on the bright green RSS feed, up and to your left.

You can also be notified when new tips for finding motivation is added through my online eNewsletter.

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