Getting Fired Up!
Getting fired up is a concept that for me came from working my first sales job. In 2013 I worked for a Sprint Premium Retailer, one of my favorite jobs. But that is besides the point. The reality was that with sales (and generally working with people) you have to be in the right state of mind, and you need to make sure that you are ready to go! Now I added a picture of a cup of coffee, and while that is part of my personal habits it is not particularly required.
What is getting fired up? What does that mean? It means you get your mind, and your body in the optimal state to do the job. You shed the stuff that does not apply to your job, and you do your absolute best to ensure that you are projecting the energy, the demeanor, the positivity that you need to bring to be successful when dealing with people.
Before I dive into my habits let’s talk about why this is important. As a software engineer only talk to people in standups, we only talk to a few people per day, and it isn’t as needed right? WRONG! This kind of ritual in the morning can ensure that you are in the right headspace, and your are treating your team, and your supervisors, and your clients in a better way. That is the point 100%. It also means that you are going to be more productive when you walk through that door, be it physically, or metaphorically.
I have found that if I rush through this habit, or I miss it because of lack of time, that that day is so much more difficult, and I have to ensure that I am really paying close attention because I am just not on that level. It is massively important to me because that is the level that I want to be at. Once I got this figured out it is something that I do daily, even on non-work days. Driving on a trip? Doing it! Taking the dog to the park? Doing it! Hanging out with family? Doing it!
I could sit here at this point and talk about the psychology of building positivity in your life, and ensuring that you fuse is as absolutely long as possible, but the reality is that that has been shown time and again. Instead let’s be real, the more positive, energetic, and patient we are the better we are!
BUT KYLE! What is this ritual you have already written half a book on? It is pretty simple to be honest. It is very much most peoples average morning ritual with some tweaks!
- Get up at roughly the same time daily (I get up 7–8 Daily, including days off unless I was up well past midnight).
- Get your coffee BEFORE you do anything else. Get some of that caffeine into your bloodstream!
- Grab that mandatory hot shower! As an ex swimmer this is a thing for me. You need to loosen up and burn out some of that tension & stiffness!
- Sit down with the rest of that coffee (or a fresh cup) and take 20 minutes getting into that headspace with music (or videos, etc. IT HAS TO BE POSITIVE AND UPBEAT!). (you had to know that music was coming into to this)
- Walk out the door or log on and leave ALL of your outside baggage at the door. Be the absolutely best version of you!
Yes, I am fully aware that this is most folks normal mornings. That said so many people sleep till that last alarm (and then snooze it 5 times) and end up with only a few minutes to race through all of this. STOP IT!
I get it! We all like to sleep, but having the time to properly wake up and transition from being sleep zombie into being a functional person is so very important!
Imagine a gas tank and as you work through your morning routine it fills… That is literally it! Humans are not made to go from sleep to full speed in 5 seconds! In fact that is a quick way to destroy your body because you are delving into fight and flight instead of a leisurely transition from asleep to fully functional.
This is self care, and anyone worth their salt will tell you that self care is so very important! An extra 20–30 minutes a day is all it takes and your positivity, energy, and patience level will be in the right space.
I learned this from my old assistant sales manager. He was almost always in a great mood, had a great energy, and was an amazing sales person. This is all he did differently than me, so I decided to make the change. It was a painful transition at first, but when I got to the point that I was doing it daily it was a MASSIVE thing! My numbers went up, my attitude with customers and coworkers was better, and it was just a few extra minutes.
Sometimes something so simple is such a powerful tool in our toolbox. Give it a shot! It also makes it easier to show up 10–15 minutes early for that first meeting of the day (hint hint).
Get hyped up, and enjoy the rest of your weekend! Happy Holidays!
