The Elephants Have Escaped

Nothing brightens our day more than getting feedback about how people are using the strategies from Juggling Elephants to improve their life in some way. The following anecdote we received last week had us laughing and also applauding the couple who gave us an interesting visual of their circus. They wrote:

My husband and I are trying to live by the principles of Juggling Elephants. We are having almost daily conversations about the acts in our rings. He has made a commitment to his self ring (something he, too, has neglected for quite a while). When I asked him how his circus was going one day this week, he responded by saying, "The elephants have torn down the tent and are running amuck down Main Street!" He was dead serious. His work ring was way out of control that day and he visualized it and verbalized it to me by the destruction of the circus!!! Poor elephants. We both had a hearty laugh and moved on to a discuss how he could "herd those elephants" back into the circus and how he could reconstruct the tent.

Bravo! You both get a standing ovation from us. We welcome any comments you have about your experience with the book. E mail us and let us know how your circus is going.

Preventative Maintenance In Your Lineup

While rushing through the airport last week, a wheel on my roller board suitcase broke. I immediately looked like someone dragging a bag of rocks. I finally resorted to picking up the bag, which was not a pleasant experience either. In the midst of my frustration I heard a voice (inside my head) saying, "Weren't you thinking the other day about the need to do some maintenance on your suitcase-lube the wheels, repair some zippers, etc.?" But so many more important things to do-or so I thought. Now the repair and frustration costs me much more than doing some "preventative maintenance."

As you reflect on your planning for the next few days, what are some areas where you need to perform some preventative maintenance. Is there a relationship you need to nurture, some small task that you need to do at work before it mushrooms into a bigger task? What about that checkup you have been meaning to get to? Remember-if you are proactive you get to choose when it goes into your lineup. If you let it go-you are at the mercy of when the act is ready to scream (literally) into your lineup-possibly wrecking your day, week or even longer length of time.

The Ringmaster and Compassion Fatigue

We had an interesting conference call last week with a chief medical officer of a health care system. While discussing the "elephants" they were juggling, he mentioned compassion fatigue. While the term has been around since the 1950's, it was new to our vocabulary. The CMO described it as a condition that occurs in certain health care workers. It's different from burnout because people enjoy what they do and find meaning in it-they are just so drained from the compassion required in these unique positions.

Wikipedia gives this description of the symptoms:

Sufferers can exhibit several symptoms including hopelessness, a decrease in experiences of pleasure, constant stress and anxiety, and a pervasive negative attitude. This can have detrimental effects on individuals, both professionally and personally, including a decrease in productivity, the inability to focus, and the development of new feelings of incompetency and self doubt.

Using a Juggling Elephants perspective, the ringmaster is just drained-and needs frequent intermissions to maintain their mental and physical energy. Or they may need to spend some time in their other rings to be "refreshed and renewed." Spending a large amount of time in one ring-especially if it's intense-is draining. The parent with an uncooperative newborn, a caregiver who is with their sick loved one 24/7.

If you are suffering from some form of compassion fatigue, determine some ways to quickly replenish what drives you. If you know someone who is suffering from compassion fatigue, see if there are ways you can offer relief.

The Show Must Stop!

While in a commercial plane this week, I experienced something quite strange. The plane was taxiing to the gate when a passenger got up and went to the bathroom. The flight attendant alerted the pilot and he immediately stopped the plane. The flight was already late, and the needless delay due to one person's selfish act really made many of the passengers angry. Moments later the passenger emerged and took the "walk of shame" back to their seat.

The incident made me think about things that might cause my circus to abruptly stop... and what I need to do to prevent them. Some of the key steps for me to take would be:

• Keeping my employees up-to-date on using technology and office equipment as well as diagnosing and repairing problems.
• Having contingency plans in place if an employee doesn't show up for work or is delayed for some reason.
• Maintaining my physical health to minimize time lost to sickeness or lack of energy.
• Always being aware of an alternate way to travel to a destination in the event of flight delays or cancellations.

What about you? What are those things that bring your performance to a screeching halt?

Becoming A Ringmaster Can Be Unhealthy

British researchers have found that getting a promotion actually deteriorates the mental health of the person being promoted-and it goes beyond the simple effect of changing job responsibilities. The study also found that these same people as a group visited the doctor 20% less than when in their previous positions.

Do you see the irony here? They took a job that had a negative effect on their stress level-but did less to take care of themselves to better manage the increased stress. While the study measured mental stress, we know how interrelated mental stress is to physical health.

Let's return to the circus for a moment. The faster the pace of a circus, the more critical it is to make sure that all processes are in good working order. Performers well trained, props in place, animals well-fed. Failure to take those steps means that something is more likely to break down in the lineup-and in a fast paced environment the effects are multiplied.

If you are in a high stress position, don't deny the necessity of making sure ALL your rings are in good working order. Fail to take the time for the important things, and many times the important things will take the time from you when you least expect it.