When posed with the question of what kind of leader you are, what answers arise? Are you completely content with how you lead, or could you be even greater and more impactful than you are now? What would it take for you to become that leader, and what are you willing to do to achieve it?
If you believe that you’re not a leader, then you’re thinking too narrowly. Leadership refers to how you influence your inner and outer world—in other words, yourself as well as everyone and everything around you. We are all leaders, regardless of whether or not we were selected to be. The question thus is not if you are a leader, but rather what kind of leader you choose to be in every moment of your life.
Are you an anabolic leader or a catabolic leader?
We live in a time in which fear, divisiveness, anger, and conflict are pervasive in virtually every area of society. We see this in how the nations of the world interact with each other—all too often through combative rhetoric, or worse yet, war. It’s commonly on display amongst our political leaders, who embarrassingly behave without respect or decorum. It manifests as the exhaustion and stress that’s prevalent in the workplace and in our daily lives. Perhaps most simply, it shows up in how common it is for us to talk about all of the things that are wrong in the world or in our lives rather than optimistically discussing opportunities and solutions. It’s very easy for us to get sucked into this negativity and to convince ourselves that it’s normal to be this way. It’s not.
This is catabolic energy and it flows rampantly through many of us. It’s no wonder that we feel tired, stressed, anxious, frustrated, or angry, and that we look forward to moments of disconnection through distractions like alcohol, drugs, television, or social media. Having significant catabolic energy in your life is draining and exhausting. Even in situations where it results in success (for example, in a fear-based leadership culture, or when we force someone to do something our way), this success is not sustainable in the long-term, nor are the results that are achieved ever optimal.
There is a much better way to live—one that doesn’t come at the cost of our health and happiness, and that is to increase our anabolic energy, which is positive, expansive, and creative, enabling us to see opportunities everywhere rather than problems. By increasing the amount of anabolic energy in our lives we are able to do more with greater ease and speed while expending less energy in the process. Additionally, research shows that there is a strong correlation between our energy level (anabolic vs. catabolic) and the degree of joy and satisfaction in our lives. More anabolic energy results in more happiness.
Would you like to experience greater joy and satisfaction in your life?
I am thrilled to announce that I am now certified as an Energy Leadership Index™ Master Practitioner ((ELI-MP) and am providing ELI assessments and debriefs, both as a stand-alone offering and as part of every coaching package. As I shared in my last newsletter, the ELI is a highly accurate attitudinal assessment that quantifies your energetic composition (distribution of energy across seven distinct levels) and can greatly increase your self-awareness, empowering you to live more consciously and to choose how you experience life. It is the only assessment of its kind in the world.
To learn more, visit Energy Leadership Index™ Assessment & Debrief.