Mount Vernon High School

March 15, 2024 What's Fueling You? For those of us who have a desire to win in any important area of life, today matters. There’s work that needs done - tasks to complete, problems to solve, and progress to make on our journey to success. You’ve probably already spent some time thinking about your to-do list for the day ahead. And while what you're doing is important, I also want to encourage you today to take a minute to consider why you’re doing it. What’s fueling you and your work, and is it capable of getting you where you want to go? There are of course many different resources that we use as fuel in our world today, and many different ways to measure their value. One of the most important measures is fuel quality. Some fuels burn clean and light, leaving little residue behind and keeping its engine healthy and strong. Clean fuels are highly sustainable, and promote strong performance over an extended period of time. Other fuels burn dirtier. They leave behind damaging residue and create harmful after-effects that gradually hinder performance and eventually damage or destroy the engine completely. In the same way, each of us have options when it comes to the fuel we choose for our journey. Why we're doing what we're doing is important, because while some of those options burn clean - keeping us healthy and strong, and promoting long-term peak performance, other options burn dirty - fueling us effectively in the short-term, perhaps, but gradually harming our performance and eventually damaging or destroying us altogether. Here are a few example of each… Clean fuel: Love. When you genuinely love what you do, it creates a powerful blend of both passion and commitment. Passion is that infectious enthusiasm that flows from the heart, born from feelings of gratitude and appreciation for the opportunities you've been given. But real love doesn't stop at your feelings. It goes even farther. It also cultivates a deeper level of commitment, too, that drives you to show up and give your best to this pursuit, even in the moments when you don't feel like it. Clean fuel: Purpose. Purpose speaks to the value of the work you're doing, and the difference you recognize it’s making. With a deep sense of purpose, even the difficult work is worth doing, because what you’re doing matters. The truth is that for each of us, it’s not the difficult work that burns us out. It’s the meaningless work. When we’re driven by the belief that things will be different - better - because of the contribution we're making, it increases our level of engagement and effectiveness. Clean fuel: Service. Some of the purest motivation for what you do comes when the focus and the motivation for the work isn’t on you at all, but on making a difference in the life of someone else. Whether it’s a simple, selfless act or a significant sacrifice, there's a unique level of joy that comes with authentic service. The Hall of Fame basketball coach John Wooden once said, “You cannot live a perfect day until you do something for someone who will never be able to repay you.” That speaks to the quality of a life fueled by service. Dirty fuel: Resentment. Anger, frustration, and resentment might effectively drive your performance in the short-term, but over time that negative energy just isn’t sustainable. It gradually distorts your perspective, destroys your passion, and diminishes your performance. Dirty fuel: Fear. Like resentment, fear can provide us with some pretty powerful short-term motivation. The fear of failure, the fear of the unknown, and the fear of looking bad - among other things - can all be powerful drivers of your performance, but they don’t promote the bold, courageous decisions that real success often requires you to make. In the long run, fear keeps you safe and small. Dirty fuel: Comparison. When what you choose to do is driven by some unhealthy desire to try and keep up with someone else, it shifts your focus off what really matters: you and your journey. Constant comparison breeds an unhealthy sense of inferiority about what we have and what we can become. Besides, it's exhausting. There'll always be someone out there worth envying if you're really committed to finding them. I’m not sure what’s on your to-do list for the day ahead, but I hope what you’re doing today isn’t your only priority. I hope you’ll also take a minute to consider why you’re doing it. What’s fueling you and your performance? Are you driven today by love and purpose and service to others? That’s the clean, healthy, powerful kind of fuel that’s capable of sustaining excellence over the long haul, and moving you forward on your journey to success. -Travis