How are you?

How are you?

How are you? When is the last time you were asked this? Not your family, or business. How are YOU? And when last did you think about that? As Business Owners & Leaders we are expected to always operate at 100% of our mental capacity. But when last did you operate at even 80%, for 5 consecutive days?

My youngest daughter is busy with her “practical” at a primary school. Every evening she packs a lunch bag and gets her clothes ready for tomorrow. Her car goes for its regular maintenance without fail. She also works part-time when not attending classes and as her study schedule allows.

Yesterday she went to the doctor, at last. She thought “it would go away”. Go figure…!

You expect your car to always start. That’s why you take it for its regular service intervals without fail. Your equipment at work is serviced strictly according to a maintenance schedule. You are in the office the same time every day.

To do these things is, well just logical, common sense. Not so?

But when last did you get a “maintenance service”? How’s your mind, your body, your stomach, your back, your hips, your breathing, your mood, your focus? How’s your relationship with yourself?

Mark Twain wrote something along this – the problem with common sense is it’s not that common.

Neuroscientists tell us that there are large areas of our brain that does not do what is logical.

I do a few things daily to help me have better common sense and be logical as much as possible.

I only shower, and in cold water.

I do some breathing exercises.

To help me focus quicker after an interruption, and to make my focus even sharper, I do “horizon watching” (my definition) a few times a day.

Every morning I read and listen to podcasts before work.

I do not look at my mobile phone before 08h00.

I am very aware that I have power over my brain, not the other way around, so I am very protective of what I expose my brain to – see and hear, and what I get involved in.

And I regularly check my “sanity” with strategic network groups. Not commercial network groups.

One of the things we do at The Alternative Board® is to check in with our Business Owners & Leaders, every time we meet. Answering the question, “How are you?” has a physiological effect on a person.

There where you are, rate how you are on a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 = can’t get worse, 10 = can’t be better.

How are you?