Flying with a Leak in Your Fuel Tank?

You know how it goes. While everyone is buckling seat belts, cramming their carry-ons into the overhead compartment and fighting over the arm rest, the dreaded announcement is made.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve got a maintenance issue that we’ve asked the crew to check out. Our take-off is going to be delayed until we get this fixed. Your safety and comfort is our top priority. Hopefully, it won’t be too long before we can be on our way.”

Drat!

During the pre-flight check, some thing-a-ma-jig begins flashing a yellow light. Not wanting to risk a crash, the pilot calls maintenance to fix it. Everyone sits and waits for the glitch to be patched up.

Isn’t it amazing how everything comes to screeching halt at the hint there might be a problem – even a small problem – in the plane’s sophisticated operating system? Why is that?

“Duh!” you say. “Only an imbecile would want to be 30,000 feet in the air in a plane that’s functioning at anything less than 100%!”

Too bad we don’t pay as much attention to our own internal warning systems. If we did, a whole lot of costly top performer crash and burns could be avoided.

Here’s the deal.

One of the most destructive kinds of collateral damage is internal collateral damage.

Internal collateral damage is the kind that occurs inside your own operating system. Early warning signs of internal collateral damage include feeling stressed, frustrated, overwhelmed, impatient, angry and exhausted. These are signs that you are operating poorly.

“I’m so tired, I can barely think.”

“I’m so angry heads are going to roll!”

“I never have enough time to get everything done. I feel so overwhelmed and stressed out.”

“I’ll show them who’s boss!”

Sound familiar?

Here’s the naked truth about internal collateral damage.

Most top performers are Type A individuals who are so driven to achieve that they ignore, deny or tolerate the early warning signs of internal collateral damage. They work 50, 60, 70 or even 80 hours a week without giving a second thought to how they feel physically and emotionally.

They take a lickin’ and keep on tickin’…. Or so they think.

In reality, ignoring internal collateral damage is like flying a plane with a leak in the fuel tank. It’s just plain stupid – pun intended.

As your internal collateral damage increases, your executive reasoning skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, learning, memory and decision-making all diminish.

In the presence of internal collateral damage, your work performance, health and quality of life begin a subtle downward slide.

Internal collateral damage continues to build up until…BOOM! You implode, go nuts or do something stupid.

I bet you can guess what happens next.

Tempers flare. Heads roll. Balls are dropped. Heart attacks happen. Divorces pile up. Companies sputter.

What began as internal collateral damage now ignites external collateral. Pretty soon, you’ve got a raging inferno of problems that could have been avoided if only you had seen the writing on the wall.

What warning signs of internal collateral damage are you ignoring?