Sustainable Ambition Forum - 2.17.23
When I walk through the park in the evening, I meet up with a group of skateboarders who practice in the same stretch of roadway, consistently doing their thing night after night. I watch them take off, try a trick, and most often not land it. Yet, they get back in the queue to try again.
When I watch those skateboarders, it makes me think about Experimentation and Resilience.
I love the word experimentation. It allows for trying, learning, and failure. Experiments aren’t about getting it right from the start. Those skateboarders experiment with their approach to tricks. It takes repetition and practice to get it right. I was also reminded of this when I went to a comedy club in Los Angeles over the holiday. Those brave souls were willing to get in front of an audience and test their content to practice until they got it right. Some of their jokes bombed, and they admitted it on stage. How courageous! But they knew feedback is simply information.
Experimentation can be a powerful tool for us as we explore what might be next for our own life and work arcs. I appreciated my conversation with Neha Mandhani in the podcast featured below, who has experimented her way to work that is in integrity with who she is. Today she feels more alive having chosen a path that aligns with being ambitious on her terms.
Resilience is a word I’ve used with Sustainable Ambition. I find it to be a better focus than seeking work-life balance. How can we build our resilience to sustain ourselves as we take on our ambitions? This doesn’t mean totally gritting it out, but it could mean appreciating the grind, as Dr. Sahar Yousef talked about in E51 of the podcast. She points us to appreciating the process (skateboarders!) and telling ourselves that “the grind feels good,” so we don’t get distracted by seeking dopamine hits. See hard work and sustainability aren’t mutually exclusive. Frankly, flow is found being on that edge of a challenge. Resilience helps us embrace the learning process, remaining committed and persistent.
Now, how can you step onto the skateboard?
Where do you want to experiment?
Where are you drawn to keep going, keep trying, keep learning?
Where can you appreciate the grind and put in the uncomfortable work, because you are committed to your ambition?
Where can you add a bit of what you love to the experience to make the uncomfortable work more enjoyable?
It’s helpful to realize that ambitions aren’t time bound, nor is success. You can land the trick if you’re willing to experiment and be consistent and persistent.
Give it a go. It’s time to push off.
With encouragement,
Kathy Oneto
Founder of Sustainable Ambition
P.S. Listen to E94 of the podcast where I talk about the same inspiration and speak more on persistence and its relationship to success.
The Round-Up
How to create space for the work that matters. Three tips from Marie Kondo and the author of the book Stretch: 1. Focus: simplify what you truly need to do and what you need for your work. 2. Motivate: ask your future self if the activity will result in joy. 3. Joy as a Filter: Focus on joyful work that will fulfill you and look to add joy to tasks to up your motivation.
You can come back. Get inspired by Brendan Fraser’s story of going quiet in his acting career and finding his way back. The lesson: Find joy and success in your personal journey.
How hard should we push? Stretching and any resulting stress is not bad, just like ambition isn’t bad. But it can have a dark side. Constant over-stretching and stressing too much can have negative consequences. My counsel with Sustainable Ambition is that if we are going to stretch and strive, we need a plan to sustain ourselves. Similar counsel is provided here. If we are overly stressed, we need coping mechanisms. tThe article offers some tips.
Reading: Peak Performance. This is another good read from Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness on how to perform without burnout. A key concept in the book—periodization, which means cycles of hard work and rest for recovery. I’ve taken this approach when training for endurance events, and the concept also came up in interviews I held with endurance athletes. It’s okay to work hard. It’s also okay and, frankly, critical to allow for proper recovery.
Music for focused work. I’ve learned that there are times when I like to listen to music to help me focus on my work. More often I find it distracting, yet other times it helps me dial in my attention. I created this Spotify playlist of instrumental music for my recent Dial In Your Ambitions workshop. Give it a go and experiment if it helps you focus, too.
The Sustainable Ambition Podcast - Episode 97
Join me for conversations with experts, authors, and friends on
what it means to live with Sustainable Ambition.
On Feeling More Alive Choosing Ambition on Your Terms with Neha Mandhani
It was so great to speak with Neha Mandhani, a certified executive leadership coach, for an open, honest conversation on what it’s like to listen and honor oneself, to move through the discomfort of choosing self-authorship, and to step out of the norm onto a path that aligns to your integrity and purpose. Neha is someone who has explored her multiple passions and interests and experimented her way to where she is now. While Neha may feel more alive today than ever, her journey has not been without its fears. She embraces those fears and keeps moving forward, encouraging you and her coaching clients to do the same.
You may hear yourself in Neha’s story. And for that reason, I appreciate her parting wisdom for you all—“How is your relationship with yourself? How well are you leading yourself?” What insight might you take from this conversation to get into action, experiment, and make a positive shift towards stepping into ambition on your terms?
Find it on your favorite podcast player here or on our website here
You can also find the listen and subscribe on any podcast player here
It’s personal.
Practice with what builds your resilience.
I believe that our Sustaining Plan and what builds our resilience can need a reboot over time. Some activities that sustain you may be oldies and goodies. Others may need to be rotated. And at times, new tools and tricks may need to be added to the toolbox.
I encourage you to experiment with your Sustaining Plan. I’ve been doing this at the start of the year. Here’s what I’ve been trying:
Get myself outside and into fresh air earlier each day
Bring my daily 10-minute meditation back
See (visualize) no more than 5 tasks for the day (to avoid overwhelm)
Get back to the gym and out in the world
Give myself weekend days with a lot of space and fewer personal to do’s (the result is the days have been feeling longer)
What works for me is not necessarily going to work for you. Our Sustaining Plans need to be personal.
What do you want to experiment with next to help build your resilience?
3 Questions:
Do what you love. Be what you love.
Research from the Mayo Clinic has shown that spending just 20% of your time at work doing what you love can help keep you engaged and help avoid burnout.
What do you love doing?
Who do you love being?
How can you regularly bring those doing and being activities into your days?
“I welcome that first mistake because now I’m free.”
— Yo-Yo Ma