Jim Fannin Blog

“I don’t want to go to work.”
“If I talk to another customer I think I’ll scream.”
“Golf is no fun any more.”
“I dread getting on another plane.”

These are all real quotes. All were told to me recently.
Do you have an arena of your life that has become dull and boring?Do you feel stagnant with a lack of enthusiasm and high energy?Do you approach this life arena with dread?

Everyone has been burnt out from over-work in your job or over-practice in your sport.

Performing the same routines over and over and over and over and over and over (sorry…that was monotonous) again can get old, fast.

During the early 1980’s I visited the beautiful country of Ireland. I met with Matt Doyle who was leading his country’s tennis federation. We discussed practice routines and the importance to avoid burnout from too much practice. Matt was also coaching a Swedish professional tennis player named Mats Wilander. It was from Doyle and Wilander as coach and player that I first heard the term “cross-train.”

Wilander began fencing and boxing to improve his hand speed and quickness. Practices became fun and challenging. With a varied practice regimen and a new sense of enthusiasm for training, Wilander swiftly climbed the world rankings until he captured the coveted #1 position.

To flip the script on meetings that were boring and non-productive, I led a senior management group while we were in bathing suits in the Caribbean. Yes, eight of us were in waist high water discussing a problem in the automotive business. And when we left the Caribbean we walked onshore with a cost-saving solution to an old problem. I’ve held seminars at a race car emporium with breaks that consisted of individuals driving 35 mph in Indy car replicas.

Check your routines in business, relationships or sports. Vary them. Approach the point of the routine in a new way. What can you add that will spice up your relationships? Try new things. What can you do with your management team that will get them refreshed and re-vitalized? What can you do to add some spark in your practices in golf or tennis?

Lastly, I coached a professional golfer that had the talent to win but he couldn’t find the practice formula that unleashed his talent. One tournament I demanded that he abandon his old regimens of preparing for his opening round on Thursday. On this particular Tuesday he was to NOT practice after his practice round. And he HAD to go to a concert that night to see Janet Jackson. He was reluctant and wary of the point. On the next night (the night before the tournament) he typically went to bed around 9pm. But NOT this night. He went to see Eric Clapton in concert. His serious approach was forfeited and a fun approach was in its place. Needless to say he won his first PGA tournament that week. He had Janet and Eric to thank for his victory.

Avoid burnout. Be aware of this toxic mindset of over-working and over-training with the same approach. Change your routines in life. Add some spice. Delete some tired and worn-out regimens. Add ones that put a smile on your face and a bounce in your step.

Enjoy the process. Results will follow.