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Do you feel busy? It seems that nobody these days is able to say 鈥渘o鈥 to that question. Prompted by a physical mini-crisis, co-founder of AdVance Leadership Dr. Garland Vance, started analyzing the impact being too busy was having on him. The result was his new book, . Through his organization, Dr. Vance energizes high achievers to live and lead intentionally.
Garland is an author, speaker, coach and consultant who helps companies succeed by developing the current and future leaders they need. After earning his doctorate in leadership, he authored Gettin' (un)Busy, which Forbes named as "one of the seven books everyone on your team should read.鈥 He鈥檚 also the co-author of the forthcoming (un)Leashed Leadership, which will help companies develop the quality and quantity of their leadership pipeline.
Everybody quantifies the busy pace of their life differently, but taking a step back and considering what the word means is helpful. Dr. Garland Vance defines the word 鈥渂usy鈥 as an overcommitment to too many good commitments. Notice the nuance of that statement.
When you take on too many projects at once, it taxes your personal capacity and negative outcomes can result. Garland says it鈥檚 like an all-you-can-eat buffet; there鈥檚 lots of food there that鈥檚 good for you but if you eat too much of it at one sitting, you鈥檒l wind up sick. The stress that comes from being too busy is the same. It can harm us physically, mentally, emotionally, and negatively impact job performance. We need to learn to rewire our brains to let go of stress.
Using a lively illustration, Garland helps us understand the impact overcommitment can have on us. Imagine you鈥檙e walking in the woods and come upon a bear. The bear moves toward you. In a situation like this, our bodies are designed to respond to the bear by going through a series of stages.
When we鈥檙e overcommitted, our bodies respond in a very similar way. But when we get to stage three, the process is disrupted. Why? Because ANOTHER stress is introduced due to our overcommitment. Our bodies STAY in a high-adrenaline state and physical symptoms manifest.
Say 鈥淣O鈥 to More Commitments Without Feeling Guilty
If the problem with our busy lives is that we鈥檝e taken on too many good commitments, how do we solve the problem? Dr. Vance says we have to develop a new methodology for saying 鈥淵es鈥 or 鈥淣o.鈥 He suggests 鈥淣o鈥 as our default until we can slow down to evaluate the opportunity without feeling obligated or guilty. If we decide that we SHOULD take on the new commitment, we should do so by 鈥defending our 鈥榶es鈥.鈥 These three steps outline the process:
Dr. Vance鈥檚 insight is practical and life-changing for those willing to apply it. Listen to hear all the things he shares and to learn about his new book, .
Listen to the bonus episode to find out why it's important to learn to take on less and how that gives us more time to do what we want.
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