I am in a funk and finding it hard to get my mojo together and have just been recommended the following book:
The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal by Jim Loehr.
So if anyone has read this book I would appreciate an opinion. As you may or may not know I am not a fan of self help books but am persuing any avenue now. Is this a book that would help or am I not going to get past Chapter 1?
What no-one has read this? I have finally beaten the ST collective, how disappointing.
I have this book and I love it. I recommend it to anyone and I have described it (with a link to Amazon) on my website.
This book is very efficient and appropriate in its assessments, but there’s one thing that a book can’t do: look at you (or your habits) with outside eyes. This is the reason that many people go to professionals: consultants, doctors, coaches, etc – just for the extra set of knowledgable eyes, and put you (or any client) on a goal-oriented path.
If you are able to look at yourelf with both empathy and clarity as the book recommends, then I’d use it as a good starting point. It’s excellent; it describes the multi-faceted life you lead and descriptions on how many difficulties can be improved by ‘cleaning up your act’. Note that the book discusses “energy” in a deeper way than you may have considered it: “energy” as ‘attention’, as how you are passionate about something, about quality (like quality of food, quality of companionship, etc). My book is all marked up, circled, highlighted, and I have tabs sticking out. I use the example of Stress (as they describe in the book: over stress) frequently with my clients.
I am a coach almost exactly in the ways that these authors are coaches, except that I don’t do “professional coaching” (per se) in the workplace location. However, although most clients initially come to me with weight/fitness management issues, their frustrations on their weight usually have underlying subjects which we address. This is not therapy. We create certain steps to ‘open’ sensitive areas in their lives where they can try new actions/behaviors - just like in the book. (Remember the guy in the book who needed to practice spending time with his family?) I even sometimes assign my clients to do “hard things” like do one thing new every day: this may seem like nothing to you, but for many people stuck in a rut (whose minds are literally dying from no new input), doing something new per day can be a truly liberating experience, which actually opens up new neural pathways and encourages better thinking processes, which in turn often alleviates depression.
EVERY aspect in life affects another aspect. You can’t ignore one part of your life and others won’t be affected; conversely, if you improve one aspect you’ll find so many others fall into place as well. These domino-effects can’t be seen (by you) until you do them, and it will probably take a trained professional to help you spot the improvements anyway. I spend a lot of time with my clients helping them understand what things they are improving every week… and they truly do improve – they ‘graduate’ from me!
Will you get past Chapter 1? … The question is, does it grab you? Because if it doesn’t grab you (or you aren’t grabbed by books), you won’t get past the first chapter at all. Simple as that. Some people turn their lives around by seeing a movie – and some need therapy. Some people don’t get anything from books, and some people are very touched by them.
The first chapter is not a particularly thrilling one. It’s really just some talk, and if you don’t like talk (no matter how important it is), you many not ever read it. If you don’t like understanding how humans tick, you may not like the book either, because the book takes a distinctly anthropological view (ie: pertaining to how humans think and act) and discusses how we tick – and attempts to help people by supporting what ‘engaging in life’ is. The upshot of the whole book: when you are engaged in life (they describe engagement for mental, physical, spiritual, business, familial engagement, etc), you’ll be ‘high performing’.
Most people think that if you put “more time” into something it will be better, right? Not necessarily. If your employer forces you to work a 12-hr day chained to your desk you’d probably droop, perhaps become emotionally and physically lethargic, and that work he wanted you to do will suffer. However, if you were allowed mind and perhaps body-renewing breaks, where you return refreshed and invigorated, you may be more active and creative when you are working – thus doing an vastly efficient 9-hr day (with more energy to invigorate your mind after work) versus an enslaved and frustrated 12-hr day… and go home and flop on your sofa, eating a crappy meal and feeling even crappier.
This --what you see in the book-- is what I do… (I didn’t mean to make a shameless plug but here it is). I work with people by phone, IM, and email (sometimes in person, but very rarely) to coach them into renewing their health and lives. Every person is different, so what your goals are might not be what someone else’s goals are (the book explains this).
Just open the book and flip to a chapter. Read in the middle for a while. then read elsewhere in the book for a while. If you like it, then buy it. Then read it straight through, and read it again after you end it. See what you think and feel afterwards.
How’s that?
Lauren
Hey Lauren, firstly thank you for taking the time to compose such a thoughtful and well crafted response for me. I am one of those people that love the written word and so I would get more from a book than a movie. I do have a lot of scepticism for “motivational” and self help books, my ex-gf had a whole series on eating disorders and how to beat “the enemy” of food. So much seems common sense and logical but maybe that is the answer to allow those in these situations to see the common sense and make the obvious, well obvious! The usual poster quotes like" TEAM: Together everyone achieves more" and “To reach no horizons one has to leave the comfort of familiar waters” just strikes me as cheesy and condescending. Can’t beat a health dose of scepticism, eh?
I will take a trek down to Borders and see if it is in stock otherwise the flipping through and reading sections to see if it grabs me will not be an options as it will be an import to order book.
Again, thank you for you time and effort.
“The usual poster quotes like” TEAM: Together everyone achieves more" and “To reach no horizons one has to leave the comfort of familiar waters” just strikes me as cheesy and condescending. Can’t beat a health dose of scepticism, eh? "
Cheesy and condescending bothers me also. I agree.
As for your ex GF’s “whole series on eating disorders and beating the enemy of food”: most people who understand how the mind works knows that eating disorders is not usually about food. It’s about other personal issues which MANIFEST in eating-disorders, but it’s rarely about the food itself. Food isn’t the enemy: what we DO with the food is the challenge, but it’s not even rocket science.
The Full Engagement book is not ‘motivational’. Feel better about that. If you read like I read, with a highlighter or pen in hand, just highlight or mark stuff which seems important. You’ll see soon how to separate what makes sense from what doesn’t.
PS: Ordering a used book makes lots of sense. That’s what I do.
Best to you,
Lauren
You are absolutely right about food not being the true reason but they have to be able to see beyond that.
Go to hear the “Full engagement” is not one of those motivational books, I will go for it. Yo uare right buying used makes sense but there is something about getting a new book and being the first to read over those pages and smell the fresh paper and ink, isn’t there?
Well signing off to work on my sleep quota 
Many thanks, J.
“but there is something about getting a new book and being the first to read over those pages and smell the fresh paper and ink, isn’t there?”
Maybe – if your thing is to ‘need’ that.
My thing is to save money when possible so I can buy things that I don’t want to skimp on… The ‘smell’ of books is not one of these, or any feeling of being first to read a certain volume
Remember: The Power of Full Engagement is about making ‘quality’ choices, not keeping fast to habits. Habits are what puts people in the ruts in the first place.
Have an excellent morning,
Lauren
Julian,
I haven’t read this book but it sounds interesting. I’ll try to locate it and read it and maybe I would have something to say about it then.
Hey Lauren, firstly thank you for taking the time to compose such a thoughtful and well crafted response for me.
Lauren is one of the best at posting well-thought out responses, at least in my opinion. She also is willing to let a dialog find its own flow.
I do have a lot of scepticism for “motivational” and self help books, my ex-gf had a whole series on eating disorders and how to beat “the enemy” of food. So much seems common sense and logical but maybe that is the answer to allow those in these situations to see the common sense and make the obvious, well obvious!
I am reminded (almost daily!!!) that not everything in this world can be broken down into terms of logic and common sense. I agree, that some things seem obvious, but not necessarily to everyone. When they aren’t “obvious” it is most probably for very illogical reasons. I and one of my co-workers engage in discussion every day as a way of blowing off steam. He is constantly asking me why I feel the need to logical or common sense solutions to problems.
Bernie
I understand what you are saying, Bern. Common sense isn’t that common nowadays and there aren’t that many people that are able or open enough to present a logical arguement. I don’t mean as in the modern meaning of arguing but as in a reasoned discussion being able to see the other point of view and trying to construct or refute supporting evidence. That sounds like that which you and your co-worker have going on.
That sounds like that which you and your co-worker have going on.
Yes and no. We (my co-worker and I) actually don’t disagree. We are just having “water-cooler” conversation about how and why people do things. Some things that seem so obvious to us, or common sense, are not evidently so. Especially as it pertains to why people make certain decisions.
A classic example of this is why someone who has more than enough time to retire from the job, seems to have his ducks in a row as far as finances, is young enough to really enjoy retirement, would continue to stay on the job. His pension is secure and would only go up marginally from year to year as he is maxed out. In fact, if you did the math it is possible that after taxes and expenses to come to work he actually spends money to stay on the job. This is crazy from a logical perspective. So there must be an irrational reason for why he won’t retire.
I think that the eating disorder example also fits the bill. For you and I to look at an anorexic girl and offer her “logical” solutions is great, but I don’t really think they’ll work. Maybe because it is not “logical” problem.
Bernie
Julian,
Jim came to Madison as the guest of the Wisconsin Sports Development Corporation to give a motivational talk in the leadup to Ironman a few years ago. He really delivered a powerful presentation. I subsequently bought his book on Peak Performance. He’s coached many athletes, taking them from second or third place finishes to gold medals.
I liked his basic premise of cycles – that for sustained high performance, you must think like a sprinter, with intense bursts, followed by strong recoveries. Pretty much like much of my other training.
Hed Case
Madison
I wasn’t suggesting that you and your colleague were disagreeing but that it sounded like you would both take opposite sides of the issue to debate them through and try to understand both sides. It’s often a very useful exercise to present any argument from the opposite point of view to your own as it gives a better understanding.
My comment about using logic when dealing with issues with distorted perceptions such as anorexia, was in regard to the fact that the “self help” books perpetuate the view that there are underlying issues causing the self hatred after binging etc. But my frustration and confusion is that the same points I would raise to a friend of mine that was a sufferer would be brushed off but touted as “the truth” that only a fellow sufferer could comprehend when read from the book.
The difference between the emotional mindset and the logical mindset, or Mars & Venus if you wish
Julian,
I love this book. However, I am bias since the author is the CEO of the company I work for. Have you gone to Border’s yet and checked it out? Send me a PM if you want further info. We also offer training programs if that might be more of your liking.
“My comment about using logic when dealing with issues with distorted perceptions such as anorexia, was in regard to the fact that the “self help” books perpetuate the view that there are underlying issues causing the self hatred after binging etc. But my frustration and confusion is that the same points I would raise to a friend of mine that was a sufferer would be brushed off but touted as “the truth” that only a fellow sufferer could comprehend when read from the book.”
Julian, could you explain this paragraph? I’d really like to understand what you were trying to say here.
Lauren
Ummm, (trying to remember the context) she would dismiss what I said, when trying to help, as worthless as I was not a fellow sufferer but later recant as gospel the same information after reading it from one of the self help books.
Is that a little clearer? I hope so.
“…she would dismiss what I said, when trying to help, as worthless as I was not a fellow sufferer but later recant as gospel the same information after reading it from one of the self help books.”
Ahhhh. This is not a self-help-book PROBLEM; this has to do with the PERSON READING the book. This is simply someone wanting ‘a professional’ (an experienced expert, hopefully) to solve the issues she was having. This has nothing to do with whether a self-help book author IS an expert or a professional, expect that it does take some work to get a traditional book published, and therefore known as a credible source.
I hope you consider my thought about that: give your comments or advice anyway, if you feel drawn to do so. If someone doesn’t take your advice, don’t get upset: it’s her life. Don’t make her NOT taking your advice ‘about you’: your own self-esteem doesn’t have to be caught up in her quest for help.
Maybe one day the person (or other people) will realize that your advice consistantly matches with ‘credible sources’ (or even experts) and may listen to you in the future.
About someone thinking your advice is worthless because you are not a fellow sufferer: don’t feel badly about this either. This is basic human nature to want to bond ‘with same’; you may UNDERSTAND PERFECTLY, but you don’t have the same common denominator, and as such you can’t quite be ‘in the club’. It takes a wise relationship to grasp that deep comprehension doesn’t always have to come by suffering the same – and that sometimes the added distance (ie: one person isn’t a sufferer) might be a valuable added perspective.
In better verbage: she was looking to complain with someone who had the same problems. You didn’t have the same problems. You had good thoughts which “a credible source” later corroborated, which she didn’t listen to until reading from that source. None of this is ‘about you’; it’s about someone else going through her own stuff.
Hope this helps…
Lauren