Z – Be Zealous

“A relationship without enthusiasm is like a vehicle without fuel”

Opening Story:

Treasure in the vineyard

 

A story is told of a man who owned a vineyard. This man worked extremely hard, day in and day out. As a result of this, his vineyard produced a rich crop of grapes each year. The rich crops that he produced provided the man & his three sons. All three of the boys had the physical and mental capacity to become great vineyard keepers just like their father.

From a young age the father tried to teach his sons the intricacies of owning and maintaining a vineyard, knowing that they would be his only successors. He would call each morning “My sons, come and help me tend the vineyard”. They, however, had no interest in cultivating the crop. Preferring to chase flights of fancy instead. Each year the farmer would plead with them “My sons, come and help me tend the vineyard” but even as they grew into young men, they always had excuses. “Maybe next week” or “I don’t think tending a vineyard is for me” and so on. The father began to despair, but he did not give up on his sons.

As the years flew by the father fell terminally ill. He called his sons to his bedside and said “My sons, the reason I have wanted you to help with the vineyard all these years is because there is a treasure buried within it. I want you to find it”. Not too long after, the father died.

The sons, now motivated by the prospect of an unknown treasures hidden beneath the vineyard, set to work as their father had wished. They toiled day in and day out, just as their father had. They began to dig and turn over the soil in every inch of the vineyard to find the treasure. A year passed, and they hadn’t found it, but the vineyard produced a crop three times greater than when their father had been doing it himself. Another year passed, still there was no sign of treasure but the crop produced a yield three times greater than the previous year. After the third year the vineyard produced such immense crops that the sons were now extremely wealthy, and not only that, they also had grown to love the tending the vineyard. They now had children of their own and were able to live happily, knowing that they would be provided for. One day the youngest brother stopped digging and said “My Brothers, I believe we have already uncovered the hidden treasure that father spoke of”. With that, the brothers knew that their father, on his death bed had taught them a priceless lesson on the value of hard-work & working with enthusiasm.

someone is excited, zealous and passionate about something, they ‘infect’ those around them with the virus! Of course, some people are more susceptible to the zeal virus.

Why choose to be someone, or hang around anyone, who dampens your zeal: a wet blanket who puts out the fire of life? Make a decision and choose to be zealous about most things. Every task you do, do it with energy and vitality. Even if it is vacuuming the floor!

Activate Zeal

Do something to generate zeal, if you don’t have it. Tell yourself great things about the importance of what you are doing; the contribution you are making; find some reason to recognize the significance of every minute of your life. Even if it’s only that you’ll never have that minute of your life again! Joy is in the minutes — find it!

Be zealous about ideas and jobs and people, about their potential – it’s the most potent way to create an environment in which someone can be their best. How would a sports team perform at the grand final if everybody sat there and yawned? The cheering from the crowd inspires them to play their best. Being at a game or grand final is much more fun than watching it on TV because we get caught up in the enthusiasm of the crowd and it’s like electricity that sets us tingling. Zeal is catchy — it jumps from person to person.

Live with Zeal

Try waking up enthusiastic about life! Open your eyes and grin. Okay, fake it till you make it. Find something in your day to look forward to — even if it’s only your shower. Greet people with zeal – instead of a boring ‘hi, how are you’ in a flat voice. Imagine you are in a really great mood and use that tone of voice to ask people “what’s the best thing that’s happened to you today?”

When you have to complete a task that you have, up until now, found tedious, become enthusiastic about finishing it. You’ll be amazed at how much more quickly the time passes. If you’re the sort of person who is convinced that there is nothing in your life about which to be zealous about, find something about which you can become passionate. There is SO much for us to learn about — that in itself is exciting!

If you need to inspire people, whether as a manager or a parent, be full of zeal. Nothing inspires people to achieve or do things or be different, than someone else’s encouragement and enthusiasm that they can make the change. To be zealous can be learned and it becomes a habit — just like pessimism and cynicism. Which quality would you prefer to have in your coach, mentor or leader? What sort of person would you rather live with?

Enthusiasm is a mindset. It comes from you. It is like happiness. One of the important lessons we learn in life is that no-one makes you happy. Your degree of happiness is completely and solely up to you.

The etymology of ‘enthusiasm’ is most instructive: it derives from the Greek words – ‘en’, meaning ‘inside’, and ‘theos’, meaning ‘God’!

In other words, being enthusiastic & zealous is like having the mindset of God. That wouldn’t be a bad way to be most of the time, would it?

You can manifest enthusiasm and zeal and inject it into your work and life every day by following this simple tips.

1. Start Early

Use the few minutes you have after the alarm goes off and before you rise to get zealous. Think of what you want to tackle for the day and get excited by it. Imagine how you will feel by the end of the day, knowing you performed at your best and generated great results.

2. Fake It ‘Till You Make It

If you struggle to spark your enthusiasm, fake it! If you force yourself to be zealous, you will become zealous.

3. Do Something Physical

Changing your physiology is an effective way to shift your mindset. Go for a brisk walk, put stock away, sweep the front entrance…even do some star-jumps or have a dance! Then bounce into your office chair with a fresh mindset.

4. Talk Yourself Up

Negative self-talk is the killer of all zeal and enthusiasm. Your subconscious mind believes what you tell it, so remind yourself how awesome you are. “I got this!”, “I love these types of projects”, “I always surprise myself with how successfully I manage my work.” Make sure the dominant thought you have in your mind is how effective and capable you are.

5. Avoid Energy Drainers

Misery loves company and many workplaces have someone who is a bit of a complainer and whiner. Don’t engage with these team members when you are in the process of boosting your zeal. Instead, gravitate to team members who really enjoy their work and life. Feed off their energy to boost yours.

No matter what your do, an injection of zeal will increase your productivity and lead to better relationships.