How to Achieve More with Less Stress in Your Zone of Genius
You may have noticed. The pace of life went from Busy pre-2020 to Bonkers about mid-year in 2022. I’m sure that myself, my friends, all my clients, and everyone I speak with aren’t the only ones that feel like we are stuck on a treadmill set on HIGH.
It might seem an impossible ask to even consider how to get more accomplished. If you are like many other people, the day ends, and you wonder where it went. “What is happening to me, am I losing it?” asked my client. “It seems as if I bounce from one thing to another and nothing gets accomplished. I feel stuck, exhausted, and I’m not sure I even like my life right now – this has to stop.”
My client isn’t the only one mildly freaking out about their experiences right now. To be fair, we are all suffering from post-pandemic stress (disaster fatigue). However, that’s not all that is creating this crazy feeling. Because our society has “What’s Next” syndrome, we have become our own worst enemy.
A syndrome that was bad before the pandemic just became impossible to manage.
The good news is, my friend, there is a way out and it doesn’t include doing MORE. You can achieve more with less stress, and by doing LESS. The optimal state to achieve this is from your Zone of Genius – something that a minuscule few discover, and usually by happy accident.
What is a Zone of Genius?
Your Zone of Genius is an aligned state of being that allows success to flow towards you vs. forcing your way to it. In essence, you are connecting what you do with who you are. A few lucky souls land in this space by sheer happenstance. What if you can create this state for yourself at will?
Guess what – you CAN. After years of studying success, understanding how people think, researching neuroscience, and diving into personality and work styles, I have developed a process to understand and unlock your fullest potential: Your Zone of Genius.
Most coaching and consulting focus on either how an individual shows up in the workspace or how you show up in your personal life. As if you could separate the two. As if you are two different people. Thanks to the much-needed wake-up call that resulted from remote work, it is now obvious that you are ONE person! It’s archaic to believe that you have two different lives. You have A LIFE; work just happens to be part of it.
Unfortunately, we have generations of programming to unwind. To access your Zone of Genius, your inner being must connect to your outward presence – how you show up in life (which includes work). By focusing on only one half of your life, your career for example, it is impossible to connect your core values, priorities, inherited mindsets, and much more that make you, YOU. Some coaches back people into this state, but that can become confusing.
As a result of this polarized thinking, most of us have been living off-balance. We are often misaligned and disconnected from ourselves. That can feel frustrating, demotivating, confusing, and even cause burnout or depression.
Why focus on a Zone of Genius?
Thanks to years of research and application, I have found that living in a misaligned state is the most common reason why people feel stuck, struggle, experience stress and frustration. Misalignment creates friction. That friction shows up in your work, your relationships, and your ability to receive, achieve, or appreciate success. It also can get in the way of you establishing your definition of success in an authentic way.
At a high level, there are several modules to understanding your Zone of Genius and different pathways into the various aspects of your life.
Zone of Genius Modules
Core Purpose – The first step to finding long-term fulfillment and living your best life is identifying your core values and priorities that drive you. Start with identifying what informs your decisions and creates the framework for your behaviors so you can align your actions and goals with your core self. A misalignment here can lead to career dead ends, damaged relationships, and unnecessary stress.
Success Mindset – This module is about your supporting mental narrative and sabotaging scripts. Goal achievement and success is easy when your beliefs are in sync with what you want to achieve. When your mental programs (mindset) are in alignment with your core purpose, you are unstoppable. It sounds too good to be true, however, it’s basic neuroscience. As a bonus, once balanced in this state, it is much easier to obtain clarity, calm, and confidence in any situation. You are literally wiring your brain for success.
Aligned Path – This step reveals where you shine the brightest and what situations drain your energy so you can leverage your inner strength effortlessly. A part of this path includes understanding your leadership, communication, decision-making, and team collaboration style. Alignment here creates clarity about your ideal professional path in sync with your unique work style and empowers you to maximize your natural talents.
Network Leverage – No one is a success in a vacuum. Understanding your People Power score and mapping your strategic connections based on your ideal professional and personal pathway is key. Alignment here enables you to “lean in” and connect to opportunities that will fuel your long-term fulfillment.
Growth System – By gaining clarity about your target goals in Aligned Path, you can create a system that leverages supportive communities from Network Leverage and implement an action plan that builds on these modules to formulate a cohesive implementation plan for your professional and personal success. In essence, you are putting all the modules together in a cohesive pattern that helps you become the best version of yourself.
Presence – How you show up is what determines your success in society. It is important to identify small, yet strategic shifts to align who you are with what you do. Your actions become more intentional and confident while you are more comfortable with being your true self. As a result, you can elevate your influence and impact with those you connect to.
What areas does the “Zone” apply?
Unlocking your fullest potential breaks all barriers in every aspect of your life. A few examples are: thriving in leadership, overcoming challenges easily, communicating clearly, self-advocacy, emotional balance, stress reduction, better decision-making, professional achievement, and even physical health.
Because you are creating your optimal state of being from your authentic core, removing mental roadblocks that stand in your way, while developing an environment that supports you – you are truly living in your Zone of Genius. You are living aligned.
Common misconceptions of personal potential are what stops people from unlocking their fullest potential. It’s likely you have either inherited or developed conditioning that tells you a story about your “limits” or your ability to achieve – maybe even enjoy life.
That conditioning is the primary reason so few even bother to understand more about this optimal state of being. You have been programmed to believe that a Zone of Genius doesn’t exist!
As a child, I wasn’t given that conditioning. As an adult, I was always skeptical of “common knowledge” while prioritizing continuous improvement. My breakthroughs were in stages as I slowly peeled back the layers of misconceptions, false beliefs, and social programming. Today, I am still uncovering new and exciting discoveries about our untapped potential.
Living in my Zone of Genius has changed my life in ways that I would have never believed possible 20 years earlier.
How do I get started?
The first step to unlocking your fullest potential is to prioritize what areas are most important to you at this moment. Everyone’s journey is unique. When you consider where you feel friction right now – how does that relate to the Zone of Genius modules?
I’m sure you aren’t surprised to learn that everything is interconnected. Ignoring that is one reason we are in this current socio-economic mess in the first place. Attempting to live our lives in increments is the main reason my client called me in a panic.
If you are curious about where you might be disconnected – you are welcome to take the Zone of Genius assessment here or schedule an insightful conversation here. I’d love to hear from you and help you understand where your exciting journey to becoming the best version of yourself begins.
Hi, I’m Coach Erin Urban – a certified professional success and neuro-leadership coach helping people just like you enjoy more impact with less stress. Like this post? Consider subscribing here to my monthly newsletter or check out my YouTube channel for more resources.
