I know many people who live at 100mph, and quite a lot who live vibrantly, but the Venn circles don’t always intersect. The problem with 100mph is that it can create overwhelm. This is amplified if you’re going 100mph in somebody else’s car, and in the wrong direction.

When your job isn’t lighting you up, your relationship is draining you rather than supporting you, or if you’ve simply taken your eyes off the road and lost the map, not feeling that boost you get when you’re making progress towards a valued goal – your goal – makes everything feel like weight.

There’s really a powerful desire to wring out every last drop of their own potential to have the most exciting, vibrant life they can create.

But this holding on tightly to all the things can make you go so hard at simply everything, that by the time you’ve done all the things you need to have done daily in this full stack life, there’s just no energy left for anything else. The ‘want to haves’ get subsumed by the everyday ‘have to dos’.

The people I’ve encountered who are living vibrantly on the other hand are definitely in their own car, and very much on their own journey.

You need three things to live vibrantly at 100mph.
A plan, a team and self command. Or think of it as a map, a mechanic and control of the vehicle.

Every journey needs a map otherwise it’s not a journey it’s just exercise. You’re on a stationary bike. That’s fine if you mean to stay in the same spot, many people appear to choose that in life.

If you mean to go somewhere in life, the map is a non negotiable. Plan your trip.

What’s exciting and motivating about your destination? What do you want your days to look like and how do they unfold?

After all, the atoms of a life are its moments. These are the building blocks of your plan.

What needs to improve and in what direction?

Just 1% better every day creates exponential growth,

which is mind-blowingly powerful

– don’t overwhelm yourself by fixing everything all at once.

And finally, what gets cut?

What sacrifices are you prepared to make, need to make, and what diversions from the plan take you down pointless avenues with little payoff?

Just examine if there’s anything (or anyone) pulling you off course and altering your route in a way you don’t choose. How can you minimise the impact?

Don’t let go of the things that create colour in your world, let go of the things that deaden you.

And if that’s not possible maybe you ‘have a guy (or a gal) for that’. Which brings me to the second shift.

These people get the technical things done that you can’t (or don’t want to). They’re your mechanics.

We are all wonderfully and fortunately comprised of different strengths, values and propensities. Other people give us perspective, context, support. They know things we don’t know. Other people also love to help, to share their expertise and experience. Often it is the inability to graciously receive which gets us stuck.

We less often need to work on our ability to give than to receive, for it can be humbling to admit to the gaps in our brilliance and we want to save face. Especially high-achievers. Is that you? Are you trying to do it all on your own?

You do not need to reinvent the wheel.

Create space instead for the things which are in your strength capacity, tap into the almost unlimited resource called ‘other people’ and stay in the path of ease and flow.

Sir Isaac Newton

Who are your teachers, mentors and helpers? Look for ways that delegating can actually empower the people who are tasked or asked. That’s a win win. When you empower the people around you by holding them capable you are leading.

When you have the humility and vulnerability to ask for help, you give another human the opportunity to elevate themselves to meet your need. Random acts of kindness are scientifically proven as one of the most powerful ways we can increase our day to day wellness – gift that to someone!

And the final piece. The only element you can truly control. You, the driver.

You are the pilot of your own life and you are responsible for yourself as the passenger. Your safety, enjoyment of the journey and the decision on how fast you get there is solely in your hands. How do you optimise for that? Make sure your brain is working with you and not against you.

We are hijacked daily, hourly, constantly by self or other-judging thoughts.

But not being able to manage our sabotaging thoughts has the power to incapacitate us, damage our relationships and tank our productivity.

To continue with the car metaphor; during a Formula 1 race the car comes to a complete stop to change tyres. Without that reset they’ll spin out, create great danger and crash out of the race. Are you prepared to sacrifice getting to the finish line to maintain the illusion of momentum?

A sales agent who stews for an hour over a lost client compared to a colleague who has learned to brush themselves off, refocus and redouble their efforts into meaningful reflection, action and positivity is going to have a very different day.

One tip for this is to take a two minute break every three hours or so to get completely into your body and out of your thinking mind. (See Shirzad Chamine and his work and book on Positive Intelligence.) A short walk can do it; focus on the sounds far and near, the temperature of the air, the complex muscle movements involved in walking, the texture of your clothing on your skin. I invite you to try it and experience the value of a minute in your ‘no thinking mind’.

That calm, thoughtless part of your brain where dreams, creation, invention and bolts of inspiration live is often under-utilised as we try to consciously manage every moment. Give it space. You’ll be amazed at the wisdom that’s accessible to you in the void of your quieted mind.

It’s perfectly possible to have a vibrant life at 100mph. It’s also incredibly common to have a 100mph life that crashes into a wall of burnout, if you don’t plan the drive and drive the plan. Trust other people. Trust yourself.

And remember to feel the temperature of the breeze on your skin and the wind in your hair while you’re at the wheel.