I coach men everyday who are focused, task and action driven, and put in a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to achieve their goals. Sometimes these goals just don’t take days, weeks, or months to achieve…but they take years.
Not taking time to re-group when needed, especially over the span of years, can be toxic and have devastating consequences.
When does achieving a goal become toxic and when is it time to re-group?
Think about the goals you are working on right now. Think about the energy they require. Are you running on a full tank, or sucking fumes and choking on the exhaust?
I coach my clients as whole men, meaning goal achievement happens in relation to a healthy mind and body, and not in a vacuum written on a goals list.
A healthy mind includes good practices to keep stress at bay, active engagements to maintain healthy connections, and enough mental room to keep things ordered and cared for.
A healthy body means appropriate exercise and sleep, eating a nutritious diet, paying attention to hygiene, and taking care of any body ailments or maladies.
When a man is experiencing a lack of exercise, a poor diet, neglected relationships, having no time for himself, and experiencing a general loss of well being, it is time to re-group.
It is time to pause or readjust the goal to achieve balance.
If you think balance in your life isn’t important, and that you can continue to rob Peter to pay Paul without consequences, you may want to look at how important balance is in your own body.
A thing called Homeostasis, an ability to maintain stable conditions to ensure survival, is why you don’t burn up in the heat, or freeze in the cold. It is why you don’t suffocate going over high mountain passes. It’s why you can eat without having to be exact on the amount of protein, fat, and sugar you ingest.
Your physiological self knows how to balance. Without homeostasis you would die.
So taking time to re-group is a form of homeostasis that ensures your life and your goals function well together, and that you don’t die. Your relationships don’t die…your sense of self doesn’t die… in the process of achieving your goals and creating the life you want.
You know when you are running on empty. You can see when too many things, when those important things, are being dropped. What is it that you can do then?
You can re-group.
Your body doesn’t say, “Oh, I will preform homeostasis next week, next month, or next year.” When your body is out of balance it works immediately to re-group and bring it into balance.
When your life and goals are out of balance, don’t you owe it to yourself to follow your body’s example and re-group?
Author: Todd Gorishek
Todd is a certified Men’s Life Coach, an entrepreneur, a licensed healthcare professional, a husband, a father, and a world traveler. His mission is to co-create a strong and compassionate world by facilitating transformation through understanding, trust, and empowerment.
He received his professional Life Coaching education from Newfield Network, a certified Life Coach training school, and is a member of the International Coach Federation.