Hello and thank you for reading this.

Today it’s time to write my second post on the topic of ‘sustenance’.

This week i’m going to talk about how you become sustained from sustenance.

As you might know; every week, ideally, Thursday I will write something on the rotating topics of my four ‘life pillars; work, rest, play and sustenance.

I’m using these journal posts as a way of exploring and conceptualising what I’ve seen and known to be true, in my work as a coach, leader and business owner for the past 25 years.

After all this time, it feels right to begin to codify and articulate these in ‘compartmentalised’ bite size chunks. So that they can be read and revisited, as well as inform the questions I ask in my coaching.

I hope you find it useful.

A reminder - whats sustenance?

I shared a few weeks ago that Sustenance is "what you need to maintain you” it’s all the things you need to revive your body, your mind and your soul and I encompassed it in my ‘L.U.N.C.H.E.S’ model.

Without these elements you are falling towards burnout quickly and by the time you feel the symptoms of burnout - you are already in it.

Put these elements in play and you are ready to take on the world.

How do you know when you are in ‘sustained’ state?

For me, it starts with a feeling and some thoughts.

When I’m happy; I feel calm, relaxed, successful and enough.

I also know that I’m achieving stuff, progressing towards my purpose, I feel healthy, I feel rested, I feel safe and I feel loved - I also feel like my body can flow and breath.

If I begin to neglect one of these elements, I, like many can catastrophise - even if only temporarily - until I remind myself of how much I have to be grateful for, how well things are going and take deliberate action to recharge my sustenance levels.

What does Sustained look like?

When I am in a sustained state, I smile a lot, I have bounce and my conversations are beautifully balanced in favour of light only only a dash of shade (depth).

I have a bounce in my step and life feels ‘rock n roll’.

I also feel like I can park everything to spend quality time with the kids and the time I spend with Dominique is about her, us and the activity we’re doing. I can park work to one side.

When this is happening, I know that I have allocated time to get out on my bike, I have walks, I have time to read and I have time boxed time to look after the housework. I know when my coaching sessions are and I have 30 minute gaps between them to record actions and notes that will help next time as well as grab a coffee, and clear my mind, before the next one.

I am also doing more of the type of work I love doing and I have time to meeting new people and go see interesting things.

A client example

Last year I worked with a senior leader who spanned a significant business in the private sector.

Desperate to make a difference, placing too much on their own shoulders, they had simply burned the candle at both ends for too long and had burned out.

Not only did they need many, if not all of the 7types of rest, they needed to find some ‘in the moment’ strategies - to deal with what the labelled as “feeling on fire”. And I don’t mean in a good way.

If needed I’d have referred them to a counsellor. But I checked if we could find a way through first and the good news is that we could.

Too start with, we explored the question “you’ve said that you feel on fire, what would you describe the stage before that - where it was even 1 or 2 degrees cooler?”

Having labelled that ‘before’ stage, I then asked “what would need to change, in order to turn down the heat to that level?”

The coachee was able to think of some simple changes, like getting some sleep, writing some to do lists of each part of their life and then cancelling some less important meetings.

“Could we do that now?” I asked and I sat there whilst they took the actions they needed too. “How you feeling?” I asked at the end “lighter the said”.

Over the course of the next few sessions we turn down the fire again and again, adding in exercise, proper meal times, sleep, and the chats that they needed to address with key stakeholders.

My client could not have envisaged how much of difference and how revived they could feel after only re-introducing some of the sustained elements, they needed. It it took was ‘Just’ enough for them to get started, see some results, no matter how small and have someone with them to help them keep leaning in - gently at first.

I’m delighted that most of us don’t need that level of intervention, but we can all benefit from the approach.

So what are the steps to regaining a feeling of ‘sustained’

In my experience there are seven foundational steps to regaining of feeling of ‘sustained’; these are:

Recall
What the sustained version of you looks, sound and feels like. And label it - Happy, is mine.
Record
Writing down the elements that go into making you feel sustained in a month, a week and each day.
Recognise
Acknowledge and absorbing what’s present and what’s missing.
Reintroduce
Decide upon what you need to reintroduce into your life and in what order; start small.
Rota
Or plan your work and life ‘rocks’ - settling on your ideal month, week or even a day (if thats all you can see for now); starting with:
A) Planning in your life ‘rocks’ - 1st Plan in the ‘this needs to be immovable’ items like sleep, exercise, rest, family time, meals. I also ensure that there is time for meal prep, washing and getting kit ready and packed for my bike riding - I need ‘buffers’. Time box the other stuff around these.
B) Planning in your work ‘rocks’ - Previously shared here - get your work rocks in the diary. I also identify how and where I want to work if I can; for example, placing 30 mins between coaching sessions so I can record discussion points and the actions, as well as grab a mind clearing cuppa.
C) Planning in ‘buffer room’ - If you dont block for the nice to haves or overspills they will spin over into your non work rocks.
Celebrate
Progress at the end of week by saying well done for the sustaining activities you HAVE done.
Root
The growth and how your brought it about, into the ground, by identifying how you will keep it going.

Now, this doesn’t happen by accident

If you are struggling to work through this stuff or just want life to be more balanced and sustaining than it already is; get in touch - it’s my forte. And my lack of being perfect at it means - you’ll get a pragmatic human being to work it through with.

The Next ‘Sustenance’ Blog

Within the RECALL element. I also know that I need space. For me, and many of my clients, a key element of having ‘SPACE’ is to create space FOR the stuff I love and FROM the stuff I don’t love or need, including the things that weigh me down.

Next time I will talk about thus element in more detail, including the application of the principles of Konmari.

If there’s something you like me to write on, in upcoming blogs, let me know.

Summary Questions

Until next time, I’d like to leave you with 6 questions.

I’m happy to read your answers if you send them over or talk about leaning into some of the challenges you face to make what you need happen.

What does you being fully sustained look, sound and feel like?
What word would you apply to that feeling?
What things do you do each day, and week, when you feel this way?
What elements of sustenance are you getting and which ones are missing?
What do you think you should add back in again first?
What help do you need to move feel ‘sustained’ and to ROOT these habits?

Stefan

Enjoyed reading this? Consider doing one of these:

Sign up to my newsletter ‘Be The Waves” here - which collates each weeks long form post on a monthly basis and you’ll get to read it later in the month
Get in touch - If any of this topic resonated with you and you have something you’d like to share with me or if you’d like to discuss working with me on this topic - stefan@stefanpowell.co.uk works really well for me.
Connect with me on linked in and read my long form posts on the rotating topics of Work, Rest. Play, Sustenance and Love every Thursday
Book an inquisitive session with me to find out more about what I do and how I do it or run a challenge or thought you have passed me.

I look forwrad to sharing my next blog on ‘WORK’ next week.

For now; thank you

I am…

An executive coach who specialises in helping good people lead great things.

Good people care about others, our planet and beauty. Great things are changes for the betterment of society and all that lives within an around it.
It sounds big and fun - it is.

I'm also an endurance racing cyclist and a go. getter.

You can read more about me and what I do; how I work here

#executivecoaching #Leadership #purpose