Why are we tempted to stay on the treadmill of producing and executing?

Trainers and mental health professionals agree that staying on a treadmill is a one-way ticket to physical exhaustion and emotional depletion. So why do we continue running, not slowing down to spend time thinking about our leadership? Two words:

The rewards.

We are rewarded for what we produce and what we deliver. Achieving productivity goals or exceeding targets earns recognition for work done. No pun intended, but it’s gratifying to know that our hard work and expenditure of time pay off in the long run.

There is also a reward in building productive routines. Doing things over and over again gives us the excellence of execution. It helps us to create effective routines, which leads to a best practice. Having a standard way of doing things that produce results is both rewarding and comforting.

Comfortable, however, can be a trap. We don’t look around and question if there are better practices. We become inflexible in how we see things. We think, for example, the treadmill operates at a single speed. We believe we can’t slow down. We believe we cannot stop executing and that we cannot spend time thinking about where our leadership is going.What if we were to shift our thinking to finding innovative ways of doing things?

What if we were to think like the scientists that we are? Reconsider and challenge our original beliefs and solutions? Push the speed arrow buttons on the treadmill to a renewable pace that allows us to generate fresh perspectives and take risks in our thinking and risks in our leadership.

Now that’s rewarding.

Ideally, forward thinking is cultivated by reconnecting with our Inner Leader and following a proven process of optimizing our strengths, building our courage, and restoring our peace to become the leader we know that we can be.

Scientists know that when we get a reward, unique pathways in our brain become activated. Not only does this feel good, but the activation also leads us to seek out more rewarding stimuli. Simply changing how you look at something will make a huge difference in how you feel about it. When we feel good about our work, we find meaning and purpose in the things we do.

If you are wondering how to see things through a new lens and to expand awareness of all of your energy and effort to adopt a new perspective, click here to download “The 6 Absolutes of Successful Leadership.” It’s my gift to you for leading by example and stepping forward to embrace change. Step off the treadmill and stop running in circles, over and over again.

Go here to enjoy your complimentary workbook/journal filled with strategies and reflective exercises custom-designed to help your Inner Leader soar!

 Go here for your complimentary workbook/journal!

Teresa Dean Malcolm, MD, FACOG, MBA, CPE, CPXP, ACC, is zealous in her belief that an exceptional experience in clinical care, the human(e) experience, is achievable through meaningful and authentic relationships with others. She has served in executive positions, integrating people with process and purpose, and successfully aligning the ideas of the team with a compelling vision. She is a Certified Physician Development and Executive Coach. Her coaching philosophy, The Malcolm Method, is rooted in positive psychology, social and emotional intelligence, and strengths-based leadership. Through thought-provoking conversations, she strives to deepen the awareness of her physician clients and further their actions, thereby helping them to thrive as they lead. Dr. Malcolm (known to her friends and family as Terri) is a loving wife to her husband, Nate. Together they have three charming boys, Nathaniel, and twins, Roman and Colton.