I just read an eye-opening report by U.S. News & World Report that says the state I live in, California, is ranked dead last in quality of life. The report went on to say that, “In addition to a healthy environment, a person’s quality of life is largely a result of their interactions with those around them.” Turns out, Californians’ social interaction and engagement with each other is horrible and this dramatically impacts quality of life.
I was immediately reminded of a concept I often share with successful high-achievers as a keynote speaker and business transformation consultant to ensure they can maintain a level of success and peak performance without burning out and becoming successfully miserable: Having an energizing, engaging, and educational “third place”.
Where are the two places we spend most of our time? At work and at home. (For some of us, its at work AND at work.) The third place is where you go to learn a new skill, to de-stress, relax, blow off steam, to NOT be the boss. The third place is where you go to interact socially and engage with likeminded people and refill your motivation cup. For some it might be health related — the gym/yoga/golf course/cross-fit/etc. For others it might by taking a walk in nature or sitting in a coffeeshop with a friend, or, alone enjoying the company and energy of other strangers. And some, might enjoy honing their leadership and public speaking skills at their local Toastmasters club.
Do you have a third place? If you do — because some of you workaholics do not — is it sufficient or do you need to shake it up and get a new third place? Because as the U.S. News & World Report study clearly shows, if your social interaction and engagement is limited, your quality of life will suffer. And if your quality of life suffers, your ability to make the right decision at the right time will also suffer. And making the wrong decision, or just a mediocre decision at best, will negatively impact your career, company, and community.
Get Into Action Now: (1) Do a “third place” inventory — do you have one? Is it energizing, engaging, and educational? Are you doing anything out of guilt, obligation, or a sense of duty? (Such as golfing on the weekend because you think that’s what successful people in your industry do, but you absolutely hate golfing.) (2) If you love your third place and it provides the right amount of energy, engagement, and education — fantastic. Go to step three. If your third place isn’t cutting it anymore or you don’t even have one, take 5-minutes and write down three new third place ideas. (3) Schedule time to go to your third place this week. If you need to decide on a new third place, pick one of the three you came up with in step two and go try it! Don’t worry about getting it perfect — try a new third place and see how it goes.
Because the quality of your life, and thus, the quality of your decisions, depends on having an engaging, energizing, and educational third place. And if you are making better decisions in business and life, you will positively impact those around you and geometrically leap your career, company, and community forward.
If you need help coming up with an empowering third place, or don’t think you have enough time each week to go to a third place, leave a comment below or hit me up on Twitter @mpveltri for innovative ideas. I’ll be sure to get back to you right away. Learn more at https://michaelveltri.com/business-performance-speaker