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English is a funny language, you can express yourself, but at the same time confuse and obfuscate. Take for example the statement, “I am doing my best.”

This can have two meanings:

• You are doing the best you can under the circumstances. The situation is tough, there are many challenges, you lack resources, and perhaps the skills. Unless something dramatic happens, your performance is unlikely to improve.
• You are operating at the highest levels that you can. You could not do better no matter how hard you try. This is the point you want to be as much as possible. It is brutally hard work to get to this point, but so satisfying and fulfilling, you don’t mind doing it again and again.

This is more than a play on words. “Doing your best” is a clear metric to see how you and your co-workers are performing. Each meaning has a different set of actions that will follow, so make sure you are targeting the right meaning.

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If you are worth anything at all, there will be more demands on your time than you can handle. The demands will range from genuine business critical requests to bullies who are only looking to have their needs met to whiners who need a serious lesson in self-reliance and accountability.

You know you have to prioritize, but somehow that checklist becomes obsolete the minute you draft it. The funny thing is, at times you feel you can handle anything and at other times, you question whether anything is worth it.

Monitor the mood swings and tie it to your energy levels. If your physical energy levels are on a roller coaster ride, your mental energy levels will follow. Sometimes your physical energy levels are fine, but you still implode mentally (watch any professional sports).

Find ways to regulate your physical energy (diet, exercise, healthy lifestyle, business class upgrade) and your mental energy (meditation, compassion, accountability) to smooth out the vicissitudes of life. Life will happen to you, but you will always have more control (relatively speaking) over your physical and mental health.