“To discover what creates a full charge, my team and I reviewed countless articles and academic studies, and interviewed some of the world’s leading social scientists. We identified and catalogued more than 2,600 ideas for improving daily experience. As we narrowed down the concepts to the most proven and practical strategies, underlying patterns continued to surface. Three key conditions differentiate days when you have a full charge from typical days:
- Meaning: doing something that benefits another person
- Interactions: creating far more positive than negative moments
- Energy: making choices that improve your mental and physical health …
The good news is that you don’t have to go on a retreat in the woods to find meaning, you don’t need to find new friends at a cocktail party to have better interactions, and you certainly don’t need to run a marathon or embark on a fad diet to create physical energy. The biggest changes for your daily well-being start with a few small steps.”
~ Tom Rath from Are You Fully Charged?
Are you fully charged?
Tom Rath tells us it’s all about what we do DAILY and that if we want to improve the quality of our lives (and sense of aliveness!), we need to focus on optimizing three key conditions: Meaning + Interactions + Energy.
Tom himself is an incredibly inspiring guy. Diagnosed with cancer at 16, he discovered that he has a rare gene mutation that shuts off a powerful tumor suppressor. As a result, he lost his left eye and has spent a week in the hospital every year getting tests to make sure his various cancers (in his eye, kidneys, pancreas, adrenal glands, and spine) are in check before getting a new 12-month lease on life. (Wow.)
Being the superhero he is, this has catalyzed him to make the most of every day. He’s written a number of books (including StrengthsFinder 2.0 and Eat Move Sleep) that have sold over 6 million copies and spent 300+ weeks on The Wall Street Journal bestseller lists.
Tom also wrote one of our absolute favorite children’s books (which complements this book) called The Rechargeables featuring two little kids (Poppy and Simon) who learn how to get their charge up via moving, eating and sleeping then go on a mission to help the rest of their town. Emerson LOVES it. (As he runs to the park or eats “brain food” he’ll often say, “I’m getting my charge up!” (And, when he wakes up from a nap I love to take a look at his charge. :)
The book is packed with wisdom that distills a *ton* of research into fun-reading, actionable goodness. (Get the book here.)
As always, I’m excited to share some of my favorite Ideas so let’s jump straight in!
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