Things That Drain Me

A few months back, I shared things that give me energy. All of us have areas that inspire us, give us energy, and that we enjoy.

There are other things that we avoid, and that drain us. I was recently reminded of this as our staff read through Working Genius by Patrick Lencioni. There are places where I thrive and places that exhaust me. Here are four areas that drain my energy.

Details

I am a big-picture thinker. I have known this for a long time. I have always tried putting people around me who were good at details. A diagram in Working Genius shows where each genius is by using an airplane. Each of the six geniuses starts at the 30,000-foot view and down to the 5,000-foot view for the detail-oriented and project finishers. Both of my geniuses show up at 30,000 and 25,000 feet. Details exhaust me. I thrive on coming up with new ideas and gathering people to do the work. Then I want to let them make it happen, and I can move on to the next idea and project. Spending too much time on details is an exhausting process for me.

Complaints Without Solutions

I love ideas. I love to find solutions to problems. I struggle with complaints that don’t provide solutions. I assume some people feel like their gift is to be able to notice flaws and point them out. I can usually deal with complaints that come with ideas for solving the problem. I don’t do very well with complaints without solutions included. In reality, no one likes someone who complains all of the time. If you have a complaint, bringing multiple solutions is a wise way to present it. Your audience will receive it much better. After a while, complaints without solutions sound like whining. 

Constant Follow Up

When things require constant follow-up or multiple touches, I get exhausted. Some things are high maintenance. Those are typically not things I enjoy. I don’t work well with people who constantly need attention. I work best with low-touch, low-maintenance situations. When someone or something monopolizes my time, I get exhausted quickly.

Drawn Out Decisions

Rash, uneducated decisions are not wise. But over 90% of our decisions fall outside of that category. Most of the choices we make, we have plenty of information and experience to make them immediately. Theodore Roosevelt once said, “In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The second best thing you can do is the wrong thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing.” Statistics tell us you are typically better off going with your initial instinct. People who follow their instinct and make the wrong choice can change and recover and find themselves in a better position than those who delay the decision or wait for too much information. The lessons they learn from failing helps them move even faster in the second choice. I am a high D on a DISC profile. I want to make decisions and move on. Drawn-out decisions are painful and draining to me.

Most of these things I have recognized for years. I do my best to avoid the places that drain me. Have you ever given any thought to the things that exhaust you? Doing so may help you and those around you. On another note, I also recommend Patrick Lencioni’s book The 6 Types of Working Genius. Get your copy here