This Memorial Day I woke up feeling strange here in the States. I had no energy and the rainy 45 degree weekend must have had me down. I spent a quiet weekend in the suburbs on the couch, catching up on work… Answering a few hundred emails…. Yawn.
Then the weather broke. Yet I still couldn’t quite snap out of the funk. I had no creativity and I couldn’t write for sh*t. Feeling lazy, not really sure what to do on my day out of the office, it hit me. I was bored. Holy shit–I’m never bored. Here was my real problem:
LOFA- Lack of F*cking Adventure
What was the problem? Too much time on the couch. I should have hopped in a 4×4 and driven to Whiteface Mountain where they had 18″ of snow this Memorial Day Weekend. Instead, I sat around, I lounged and I rested. All things that are a necessary part of life, but my god, not that much.
What Fuels You?
I am well aware that I overwork myself at times, so proper sleep and the occasional lazy Sunday is something that I consciously plan. It’s an important part of resting and recharging–when I get back to working or working out I feel twice as productive. But like most entrepreneurs, more powerful than any foods I eat, any of the high-test coffee I drink, what I really run off of is adrenaline.
We all know the feeling–whether your heart is pumping before a really big meeting, your jacked up after conceptualizing your next big business idea, or you’re headed on an adventure outside of the boardroom like one to Central America with Under30Experiences–you’re running off pure adrenaline. It doesn’t matter how little sleep you got the night before–you’re going full steam ahead.
Most people never figure out what energizes them.
Maybe it’s because you are still hanging out with your boring friends, as I’ve warned against several times lately. Maybe it’s lack of imagination, or maybe it’s just lack of making a concerted effort to figure out what makes you tick. For me–it’s doing something spontaneous, going somewhere outside of my comfort zone, or having a conversation with someone who’s world is entirely different than mine. And yes, on occasion I’ve been known to jump off a waterfall in Iceland, or surf well above my head in Nicaragua with our travel company.
What’s better than that?
Giving the gift of getting others out of their comfort zone. We can all look back at our personal and professional lives and identify people who have challenged us. That older mentor, a candid friend, a coach, or an old boss…. But who do you push out of their comfort zone?
If you are leading a company or an organization, are you striving to improve yourself and the people around you? Are you leading by example or just preaching? Do you sit there and fake a smile during tough times or are you straightforward with people and tell them what they really need to hear?
If there is anything better than having your own adventure, it’s giving others the push they need to go out and challenge themselves. Whether it’s to make a business move, ask someone out on a date, or urging them to hop on a plane headed somewhere crazy, your friends will thank you later.
Next time you need inspiration–ask yourself do I have a LOFA problem? Don’t let the Lack of F*cking Adventure in your life stifle your ambition to take action. It’s time to get up and get out.
