The Smart Guide to Surging Ahead (& knowing when to Tilt)

Episode Introduction
In this conversation Claire and Miranda bust the myth that success requires operating at peak performance 24/7.  Surge. Tilt. Succeed: This episode offers your Blueprint for Sustainable Energy as they introduce the powerful concepts of surging (those intentional high-energy periods where you harness momentum) and tilting (the conscious pauses and adjustments that keep you aligned, healthy and creative). Learn how to plan both phases so you can thrive in work and life without burning out or going into overdrive.

Key Takeaways

• Strategic surging beats reactive busyness: Choose when to surge and channel your energy into the few projects that create the greatest impact.
• Tilt to sustain your success: Micro-tilts (like a mindful lunch walk or device-free commute) and bigger tilts (like saying no to a project, booking in active planning breaks or real downtime) to replenish energy and spark creativity.
• Watch for the three risks of unchecked surging: burnout, disconnection and overdrive.
• Energy management is a form of time management: Track what energises or drains you and ditch or delegate “energy vampires.”
• Communicate Surge or Tilt mode: Let teammates and also family (as this tip isn't just for work life) know when you’re in surge or tilt mode to avoid misunderstandings and to model healthy boundaries.
• Active reflection is non-negotiable: Pausing to ask “What is this surge creating for my long-term goals?” helps you steer the wave, not just ride it, or show up as "busy, busy, busy".

Key Quotes

• “Surges don’t happen forever and they shouldn’t, otherwise we have burnout" – Miranda
• “Tilt is where our judgment, empathy and values come in; it’s choosing to move more meaningfully, not just fast.”  Claire
• “Action doesn’t need to be grand—small, brave choices compound into the life that you want.” Maria Baltazzi, Take a Shot at Happiness 
• “Imagination is not an indulgence. It’s embedded in every function of thinking, planning, remembering, and connecting.” Adam Zenman, The Shape of Things Unseen 

References & Resources

• Books:
  • The Shape of Things Unseen – Adam Zenman
  • Take a Shot at Happiness – Maria Baltazzi
  • The Art of Happiness – The Dalai Lama & Howard Cutler
• Concepts & Articles:
  • “Ambitious Stagnation” – Harvard Business Review
  • “Upper Limit Problem” – from The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks (mentioned in discussion)

Your Action Challenge

Plan your next strategic surge before year-end:

1. Identify the 2–3 projects that will create the biggest impact in the next three months.
2. Schedule mini-tilts before, during and after that surge & protect them like any critical meeting or poject critical work.

Share how you’re harmonising surging and tilting with us on Instagram or LinkedIn, or email [e-mail]

Music by Claire's daughter Hannah.

Music created by Claire's daughter Hannah

Episode Transcript

Miranda (00:00):
Welcome to Elevate with Grace, a podcast for people who
are short on time and long totake steps to create success on
their own terms.
If you are feeling overworked,undervalued, and stuck in the
daily juggle, knowing you aremeant for more, then this
podcast is for you.
We cut through the noise tobring you the most valuable,
up-to-date insights, expert,wisdom, and practical strategies

(00:20):
with bite-sized actionable tips.
We help you take bold steps tocreating real progress, real
impact, and a career in lifethat truly work for you.

Claire (00:29):
A big hi to all you amazing humans.
Thank you so much for choosingto listen in.
I'm Claire.
This is Elevate with Grace, andin today's episode, Miranda and
I are exploring the idea ofsurging and tilting.
If you are thinking, what onearth is surging and tilting,
stay with us because this justmight profoundly change how you
think about energy focus andproductivity.

(00:51):
How you achieve sustainablesuccess over the long term.
We want to bust that myth thatwe have to operate at peak
performance all the time.
That somehow, if we're notconstantly crushing goals,
saying yes to everything beingon, for everyone that we're
falling behind or not living upto our potential.
But what if the secret to havinga life that you love and thrive

(01:11):
in isn't about being in highperformance mode, but it's about
understanding when to surge andwhen to tilt.
so today we're exploring what itmeans to tap into your personal
natural rhythms.
My effervescent and energetic,gorgeous friend Miranda is here
with me as always, I'm eager tohear how things have been for
you, my lovely lady, and alsohow you went with the action

(01:32):
challenge from our last episode.
Quick reminder, our actionchallenge was to reflect on
where we can double down on ourhumanistic superpowers to give
us that edge on how to work,live and lead smarter and not
harder.
Maybe it's pausing before youreact or giving feedback with
more clarity and care, or is itdeeply listening to others
without multitasking or maybeslowing down some of your

(01:55):
decision making.
are you ready to surge into thisconversation?

Miranda (01:59):
I am so ready to surge into this conversation, my
inspiring and insightful friend.
I love this month's episode somuch because it's given me a
name for something that I havelived with without understanding
for over 15 years.
And uh, this learning willforever ingrain in me much
better planning for future yearsfor myself and my team.

(02:20):
There is so much surging inlife, but I did not realize how
important tilting was beforeresearching for this episode.
So a huge thank you, Claire, forbringing this to my attention
and to the attention of ourlisteners.
This is so important.
Working in lots of product andclient pitches.
There's just always been periodsof surge that cannot be avoided.
And I remember getting back fromsome of those huge trips.

(02:42):
We'd worked hard on the pitchfor months.
We'd flown overseas, we'dperformed our butts off, and
then you get back and it justfeels impossible to even
complete an Excel document.
You can either take a proactivetilt after those key periods of
surge or your body or your brainwill take one for you, and
either getting sick or justbeing unable to put those words
or docs together with the sameefficiency.

(03:03):
This action challenge.
I could not have come at abetter time, it's the sort of
case where I've put somethingout into the universe and the
universe has given me somereally big meaty challenges to
have to endure as part of this.
So my humanistic leadershipskills have been tested.
I am proud to say I am verycomfortable with how I've
performed, but man, it has beentough.

(03:24):
increased workload being letdown in an area and having to
fix that and deal with that.
Some generational challenges.
A resignation from a hugelyvaluable team member who I've
personally just had so much joyin working with it's absolutely
meant on a daily basis, humanskills, first values led leading
with purpose, leaning into thosehard things, hiding in my car

(03:46):
for a minute to kind of collectmy thoughts and collect myself,
booking that meeting room outfor that hour just to recenter,
refocus.
And, actually putting someconversations off that I wasn't
emotionally ready to have inthat moment.
Particularly when I'd felt letdown or there was real
generational challenges.
I had to go back to my toolkitand then tackle that in a couple
of days when I was emotionallyready to have that conversation.

(04:07):
It's been an interesting monthbut I'm definitely glad that we
had all the tools at the readyand it was very much top of mind
as I found myself falling intothat month.
The other thing I feel is thismonth's really pushed me to my
limits and those boundarymoments.
I feel like this is where Icontinue to have to relearn.
Brene Brown who introduced thisidea of the fact that there is
one thing that you're justalways going to have to relearn.

(04:29):
It doesn't seem to be a naturalstate that you can never just do
well.
And for me, that's asking forhelp or asking again when I
don't get it the first time.
And giving myself grace that Ijust can't do it all in a
moment.
And it's okay that some thingsare going to have to fail or
wait because there is a limit tothis human.
If I've asked for help and Ican't deliver it all, then, it's
going to have to fall down.

(04:49):
What about you, Claire?
What's been your biggest insightfrom the last action challenge?

Claire (04:53):
I'm sorry to hear that.
Sounds like it's been a hugemonth for you, and I'm sorry to
hear that you've lost one ofyour most valued, joyful team
members.
That's

Miranda (05:01):
Thank you.

Claire (05:02):
a

Miranda (05:02):
Sucks.

Claire (05:03):
to have happen because when we've got people that we
love to work with, it's alwaysreally tricky when they move on
to other things.
So that's tricky.
I liked how you were sayingthings about just.
Giving yourself a moment in yourcar, being very thoughtful about
boundaries and trying to pushfor saying no, asking for help
and pointing out that it isn'tnatural for us to do that

(05:24):
sometimes.
For me, I have been reallyfocused on communication and
reflecting on communicationsince our last podcast.
It came up a lot around thecomplexities, challenges and
opportunities in this work andlife 2.0 how we can communicate
better.
What's too much, what's notenough, what's the most

(05:45):
effective communication channelin a specific situation to get
better, two way buy-in fromothers.
I saw a post from Glassdoor,maybe Adam Grant posted it about
the number of conversations thatare involving burnout and mental
health in the workplace at themoment.
And if we think about the.
So much going on in the globaleconomy, that 24 hour news cycle

(06:07):
that we talk about, about thepressures of ai.
And it's really tricky for a lotof us to get these balances
right and make sure that we arenot exhausting ourselves and
that we are really keeping ahold of our energy levels and
our joy in life.
So.
I'm starting to feel thatcommunication and thinking about
how we do that in this currentalways on world with different

(06:27):
ways to communicate is key.
to that.
So I've been experimenting witha few different things, but it's
not something I've had enoughtime with yet to share what's
been working and what doesn't.
I'm going to need to keepdigging down into that.
And how it can help us allthrive better in our working
lives.
That's mostly been my focus andprobably around that not

(06:51):
multitasking when.
Listening.
Really trying to, when you'vegot a million things going on

Miranda (06:56):
Mm-hmm.

Claire (06:57):
feel my brain wandering off into those million things
when someone's wanting to talkto me about, something trying to
refocus.
If I've signaled that I'm givingtime for that person to talk to
me and they've started talking,then I'm really focused on
finishing that conversation andactually realizing that your
brain can go off on differentdirections in a lot of cases,
and it's quite hard to train it,to stay focused on the person

(07:20):
and the situation that you'rein.
Like you said, Miranda, I lovehow we've discovered this
harmonic concept of surging andtilting as a way to create
optimal personal performanceover the long term for
ourselves.
I think there's some greatterms.
I love them surging and tilting.
First we're going to talk aboutwhat it means to surge, then
talk about what it means totilt, and then how to harmonize

(07:42):
them both together becausethat's really the key here is
that harmony, that yin and yangon how we get them to work.
So our whole of lives over timeletting us thrive and succeed on
our own terms.
Surging is those moments wherethe wind is at your back, where
you've got energy, whereopportunities are opening up and

(08:03):
you're feeling a sense ofexcitement and momentum.
But via beware, surging withoutdirection can scatter us and
surging relentlessly will breakus.
And I know from personalexperience that the road back
from breaking point is long andpainful.
And so that's not what we'reafter.
I've had seasons where I've saidyes to, everything worked at a

(08:25):
relentless pace and on paper itlooked like I was thriving, but
inside it felt chaotic.
And when left unchecked and pushcomes to shove, those situations
can turn into a pressure cookersituation that ultimately
explodes.
And it's a lot of cleanup thathas to happen after that when we
get to that point and so now thequestion I ask myself is, how do

(08:46):
I harness my energy withclarity?
How do I focus on what mattersmost and not get swept away in
that busyness and boundaries Ithink are key to that as we've
spoken about.
Surging is when your creativeideas are flowing, when
opportunities are presentingthemselves, when you're feeling
a sense of momentum andpossibility.
When you wake up in the morningand you feel empowered, you've

(09:08):
got a sense of self-empowermentthat you can take on the world
and when we feel like this, onething we need to be aware of is
that we risk saying yes toeverything, and that's when we
can lose ourselves and themomentum.
I've had periods where I'mjumping on every wave telling
myself that was beingproductive, but actually it
wasn't moving me to towards mybigger goals.

(09:29):
I was just relentlessly busy.
And we need to be aware ofwhether we're surging
strategically, which is whatwe're talking about today, or
we're surging reactively.
do you think about that Miranda?

Miranda (09:41):
I just want to say again, how grateful I am that
you continue to share what was areally difficult journey with us
and the listeners aroundreaching that breaking point and
having to recover, because Ifeel it every time this is hard
for you to talk about, but.
I'm so grateful that you do,because, this is one of the
things we want to get outta thispodcast, is this idea of
elevating with grace and takingthe right steps to create that

(10:04):
success on your own terms.
And that that doesn't have to beat the cost of your health your
wellbeing.
It's actually, it's all in itsinclusive package.
I am loving the idea of thinkingabout strategic surging because
for me, I never understood thatit was reactive or that you
could proactively surge.
It just felt like the situationor the moment demanded that
surge and you had to bring it.

(10:26):
And hopefully you bring it witha sense of momentum,
self-empowerment, that you wereexcited by it, that you had the
wind behind you.
And I think in many cases youdo, because it's usually
exciting.
For me it was like big tendersor big pitches, great projects,
hard timelines.
I had to turn around somethingrecently that was like.
Three months that would normallytake us nine.

(10:46):
And there is something aboutcoming together and making that
happen that's exciting.
So it does show up on thecalendar, but gosh, it's
exciting to think that we couldactually plan for it.
That we could be more strategicabout it and that we protect
that energy before we go intothose surge periods as well.
That's kind of an exciting thingto think about is like, okay, I

(11:07):
can see a surge is coming up Iknow October's hard, it's
business planning month,Christmas, so let's make sure
that we are planning these minitilts in between so that we're
not running on empty, so that weare building up that energy
store for these key surgeperiods.
Because naming something, beingable to give it a space creates
a power inside ourselves that weactually now get to own this

(11:27):
thing and not be controlled byit.
So I'm excited by that.
And I think sometimes, if youdon't have that strategic
surging, what starts as thisshared goal can turn a little
ugly and tired, particularly ifyou haven't communicated with
your team members what we aregoing to do and got their buy-in
before.
Again, the idea of that powerwithin versus being, forced into

(11:48):
something that's not necessarilyon your journey.
So I think it's incrediblyimportant that we make sure that
we are going in the rightdirection.
And so often I think people arealways busy.
We are always thinking busy,busy, busy.
And HBR has labeled thisrecently, the ambitious
stagnation.
Because we keep busy so we don'thave to think too hard, we don't
have to plan too hard, or it'sjust this natural default.

(12:10):
I'm not performing at my best ifI'm not busy.
But that idea of actuallyworking towards that greater
goal or that greater purpose isso important.
It's why we're having theseconversations.
It's because we want people toget something out of all that
hard work, all that busy, asopposed to just getting to the
end of the year and needing atwo week rest.
and getting back into it Let'sget off that hamster wheel and
really start working smarter,not harder.

Claire (12:32):
Ambitious stagnation.
I love that term.
I love my HBR reading.
I hadn't come across that.
There's another book, it's talksabout the upper limit problem
and that's in that busyness wavecycle, that ambitious
stagnation, the reactivesurging.
Yeah, I think it's great thatwe've got some names to attach
to these things so we're able toreflect better on.

(12:53):
What we're doing here in termsof using our energy getting
results.
And at the same time making surethat we're balancing that with
periods of tilting and pullingback so we can maintain those
rhythms over the longer term.
we've touched on it a little bitand talking about terms and
making sure that we are namingthings quite clearly.
There's really three key risksthat we need to be hyper aware

(13:16):
of when we are in a strategicsurging phase and their burnout,
disconnection and overdrive.
Burnout happens when you feellike you should maintain this
pace indefinitely.
Disconnection is where you're soburied in stuff that you lose
touch with people around you oryour values or your sense of
self and building these conceptsinto our teams and into our

(13:37):
families and communities so thatwe are working together as a
group and supporting each otherthrough our individual surging
and tilting and then worktogether to achieve things is
really important.
Disconnection or feeling a senseof disconnection can mean that
we're maybe not in a strategicsurge situation.
And then also overdrive, andI've been guilty of this as well

(13:59):
in the past, and have tomaintain a watch on this one.
It's where you become addictedto being in surge mode and
feeling like you can't functionwithout operating at high
intensity energy levels.
That you basically can't justsit and chill a little bit on
the weekend or when you need toor take that step back where
you're just constantly feelinglike you need to be operating in

(14:20):
an overdrive situation all thetime.
It's different to burn out, butit can be related, but wanting
to feel, you're alwaysachieving, always moving.
It's important to be aware ofthat because it can be addictive
to want to be in this state forlong periods of time.
We need to have self-awarenessand personal management
strategies when we're in surgemode, so we don't hit burnout,

(14:42):
go into overdrive or loseconnection with our loved ones
and our teammates.
And so I've got uh, threeframeworks to share to help us
operate in a strategic and not areactive surge mode.
The first one is the energyaudit in action.
We talk a lot about energylevels.
It's not just about timemanagement, it's about our
emotional energy management aswell.

(15:03):
When we're in surge, our firstquestion isn't, what can I do?
It's what should I do?
And you talked about this in ourintro and the.
Tools and techniques that you'vebeen using over the last month.
So we can try this rule of thumbthat 80% of our satisfaction and
impact comes from 20% of ouremotional investment.

(15:24):
If we try to approach our weekand our month and be noticing
and noting down across the monththe activities that energize us,
because that's where usuallywe're doing our best work and
we're creating our highestimpact.
once we sort of get a sense ofwhat those tasks are that give
us energy, we can plan out thoseactivities so we're investing

(15:44):
our emotional energy in them andwe can ditch or delegate the
work that drains us.

Miranda (15:50):
I love that you highlighted emotional energy.
We spoke about this in anearlier episode, I think it was
this season.
And it's just that continues tobe that currency that we just
don't consider enough forourselves and our teams, yet it
really does make such adifference.
And then with sort of overlaythat with surging and I think if
we're, looking at a never endinglist, right?
They're constantly saying like,eat the frog and get those

(16:12):
hardest tasks out of the day.
But if.
They're those energy vampires.
Then, maybe you'd want to dosomething that's sort of
uplifting first thing in theday.
Slot an energy vampire in beforelunch.
Then you've got an opportunityto refuel and reset and Then
we've got this energy vampireand energy uplifter, and then
you've got your big rocks,little rocks and sand so if we
can add all of those togetherand sort of work out what a week

(16:34):
looks like, that could be kindof cool.
And if I think you're findingyour day is emotionally draining
because there's way too manyenergy vampires, or you're weak
or your month, then to yourpoint, like that ditch or
delegate is really important,right?
It's having that thinkingpattern of going, Hey, I've got
a lot of high contribution tasksor big rocks that are actually
sucking my energy so I only needto stagger them out, or I need

(16:56):
to reconsider my role, or I needto reconsider what I'm doing
here or what my purpose is.
To make sure that you going inthe right direction.
I'm loving that you bring infirst framework of surge in,
with so many of the otherframeworks we've spoken about
over the episodes.

Claire (17:08):
I love what you said then, Miranda, about planning
your day strategically to doyour energizing tasks first, but
then also stagger out yourdraining tasks.
things that we have to dowhenever we're riding these
fantastic waves of surges, wecan't just avoid some of the
hard stuff.
There's hard stuff every day.
There's difficult conversationswe have to have with our staff

(17:30):
or difficult conversations thatwe have to have at home or
things crop up that are hard andso that stacking your day with
being thoughtful aroundemotionally energizing tasks and
emotional draining tasks.
and that leads into the secondframework of, of being
thoughtful around grouping yourtasks into surge projects or
maintenance mode.

(17:50):
We've gotta pay bills, we'vegotta get things sorted out.
Health appointments, making surethat we're staying healthy,
getting our tax returns done,whatever it might be.
And grouping your tasks intoyour surge projects and the
maintenance mode.
Your surge projects, it'sdeserving your pick energy, your
creativity, and full attention.
And.
That might be different for methan it is for you, right?

(18:12):
So I know that you're a fiveamr.
We all know that I'm not a fiveAMR except for my boxing classes
'cause I enjoy them.
So you might be a person that isreally energetic in the morning,
5:00 AM but there's also nighthours as well.
Knowing when those times are,and that's when you should be
using to do your surge projectbecause those things are going
to move the needle significantlyin your life.

(18:34):
Then at those other times of theday where it's not your highest
energy points, that's yourmaintenance mode for getting
things done that doesn't requirethat surge energy.
Your admin, the routinecheck-ins, the keeping things,
moving tasks.
What is important is if we aregoing into a surge phase, we
need to know what that surgeproject is that we're working on

(18:57):
so that we can distinguishbetween what surge tasks and
what's admin tasks to us to getthat project achieved.
There's some clarifyingquestions that we could ask
ourselves as we're entering intoour surge project.
If I could only accomplish threethings in the next three months,
what would create the mostmeaningful impact?
What work feels aligned withwhere I want to be in a year's

(19:19):
time?
would I regret not doing if thissurge energy disappeared
tomorrow?

Miranda (19:24):
They are hard questions to answer.
I think they're great.
In terms of those three thingsin the next three months, it
does remind me a little bit ofthe one thing and trying to
remain focused and ensuring thatwe're constantly thinking about
the bigger goal and the biggerpicture, which is excellent.
And to your point, this surgemode of like key projects, but
in that day, as we've said youcan't maintain that energy for

(19:45):
12 hours or 18 hours or whateverit is.
You're a hundred percent right.
I am using my morning for thesekey surge projects because,
after lunch, I need an admintask, or I need to book in a
meeting.
And I do find a lot of people inmy team and, and people I've
worked with when you are in thatsurge mode and it is really
important, you've got a bigproject.
The hardest thing is thatinternal box ticking and that

(20:06):
admin because, the reality isthe business still needs a
certain amount of things tickedoff.
I feel like that's what we needa framework for how do we try
and reset expectations around usand maybe move out some of those
admin tasks?
When we are in that key pivotalsurge mode.

Claire (20:19):
I think it comes back to my favorite topic of the moment.
Communicating.
we need to communicate ourrhythms with those that are
closest to us.
I'm pretty good now when it getsto a Saturday and I am cooked.
I just need to move slowly forthe next few hours.
uh, Communicating your rhythmswith those that are close to
you.
It's really important that wedon't just go full throttle

(20:40):
silently.
Our team, our boss, our familyand our friends need to be aware
of where we're going.
So for example, today I had tosay no to a couple of things
this weekend, even though Ireally want to see this person,
or I really want to do a coupleof things because I actually
just needed to.
Not, just to be a little bit andget some of that admin stuff,
the washing particularly, somuch washing.

(21:04):
So we want to be saying topeople, I'm in a high energy
phase right now and I'm wantingto channel that into X project.
just so you know,, Y and Z mightget a little less attention for
the next few weeks washing, forexample.
And I really appreciate yoursupport to ensure that nothing
falls through the cracks.
The benefits of communicatingthat others don't interpret

(21:24):
focus as neglect.
It

Miranda (21:26):
Mm-hmm.

Claire (21:27):
opportunity to let people know that you can't add
more on your plate, and it givesother people permission to honor
their rhythms too.
So they can let you know whatthey've got on And as you've
mentioned actually earlier inthe episode, Miranda, it really
can shift your team culturepositively when you are opening
up that sort of level ofcommunication and really being
able to articulate what you'redoing, if you've let people know

(21:50):
that, I think then they're notfeeling deserted and that can
help them to work around thatand work out ways to out to you
as and when they need it withthat information in mind.
So that's the third framework isabout communicating your
rhythms.

Miranda (22:06):
Communication continues to just be gold, doesn't it?
If we could communicate better,I think the world would just be
a better place.
You're completely right and itis something I've always enjoyed
when I received the feedbackfrom my team where do they want
to put their focus and ensurethat we're aligning?
I find us also reallychallenging when you've got
multiple departments that areactually looking to achieve
their objectives and they needsomething from you but it's like

(22:29):
number six on your priority listand number one on theirs.
It's trying to find thatalignment through communication
to make sure that as a business,you are prioritizing the right
things and that you are allowedto surge and get the kind of key
objectives done that you need tosort of solve bigger problems,
but communicating that in areally fair and kind way not
just maybe to the department,but also maybe the company head

(22:50):
because you are certainly goingto get in the way of them
hitting their goal or theirobjectives.
I continue to try to improve onthat and I think I've gotten
pretty good.
We always need to improve theway that we communicate and just
because of all the differentpersonalities, the different
ways we receive information,it's never going to be a perfect
hundred.
hmm.

Claire (23:07):
beat ourselves up about it.
I think I'm constantly feelinglike I'm myself a hard time if
my communication isn't up toscratch.
But I love that, in terms ofnailing communication not think
that we're striving forperfection in that sense.
We're just trying to tweak andget better and be thoughtful
about where we're at in anyparticular moment.
And to keep looking at ways tobalance and getting the best

(23:28):
outcomes for ourselves and forthose around us.
I think that's a really goodpoint.
One final thing before we talkabout tilting is to say how
important it's to build inregular reflection time and to
pause long enough in those surgephases to get clear on what this
surge is trying to create foryou and for your long-term
goals.
We're not just riding the wave,we're steering it.

(23:49):
And our future selves will thankus for that because we're
creating a positive cycle forthe next surge.
Surging with reflection builtinto it is really a key part of
this as well.

Miranda (24:00):
Agree And I find that that's going to be the hard bit,
right?
Like actually stopping andtaking that time to reflect when
you're in those high energymoments can be really tough.
The idea of being strategicabout surging is being able to
plan better and ensuring that weknow when tilt breaks are going
to become critical, or we canlook forward to them as our
light at the end of the tunnelto make sure that we keep the
energy going for ourselves, butalso for our teams when we're

(24:22):
surging together and help buildthat momentum.
And I think the loyalty as well.
So your team just doesn't feellike you're just going to keep,
cracking that whip, that theyknow that they're in this
together and that there'ssomething coming at the end
where they're going to get abreak.
And I think it's also a trustbuilding for your how to manage
this time and your team's energythat's where, if we're not
reflecting, if we're notplanning a tilt, then the crash
could come fast.

(24:42):
If we're not using thatintentional recovery.

Claire (24:44):
Yeah, because our energy will wane.
It we can't beat ourselves upbecause we are lazy or we are
failing.
a car runs outta fuel.
Just like we are going to runoutta fuel and we still need a
natural rhythm of pulling backfrom some of that stuff.
And you talked about microtilting earlier.
There's different levels oftilting and for me, tilting is
about the conscious adjustmentsthat we are doing to keep us

(25:07):
aligned.
It's me noticing my energydropping over the course of a
week knowing that it's been abig week, like you mentioned
sitting in the car, givingyourself five minutes, choosing
to take a slow lunch walkactually to remind ourselves not
to power through our lunch breakand to go out, have a walk
device free take some deepbreaths or.

(25:27):
Put my phone down on my train,commute and just look out the
window, listen to an audio book,something like that.
so there's those micro tilts andthose small tilts, but at other
times it's been rebalancingbigger things like saying no to
a particular project at themoment because it's not with my
plans for the year ahead andeven bigger still, where I've

(25:48):
had to completely deconstructand rebuild what success means
to me in a season of life wherefamily or my health needs to
come first.
And so we've got those differentlevels of tilts that we need to
build in harmoniously into oursurge phases.
to be able to do that, we haveto invest in unlearning our

(26:08):
lifelong learned behaviors thatwe have to keep pushing hard to
get ahead.
And, social media gives us thatindication.
Generally our externalenvironments.
Hustle push.
It's always out there that's,what's needed.
And we have to give ourselvespermission to know that.
We should be tilting and we needto internalize those beliefs

(26:29):
that we're not failing orfalling behind.
If we have a Saturday to justpotter around the house that's
necessary for us to havesustainable progress and
success.
There's some key signs to keepour eyes out for it's about
learning to know yourself andwhat it feels like when your
energy levels are draining andwhat some of the signals might

(26:50):
be.
But they might be things likeyou're feeling tired even after
you've had a good night's sleep,or you're actually not even
sleeping well at all.
You're waking up in the nightwith those racing thoughts.
It's those times when everythingfeels harder than it should be.
Tasks are taking longer thanthey usually would.
Or this is a key one for mewhere I'm noticing I'm becoming

(27:11):
increasingly irritable withpeople over nothing or avoiding
those things that normally Ijust smash it out and they're
easy to do.

Miranda (27:19):
We can relate to quite a few of those.
And I think the other one isthat those racing thoughts in
the middle of the night, I getto sleep pretty early, but I am
up at three just planning out myday and dealing with the things
I didn't get to deal with theday before.
Meditation has been my littlesavior in those spaces.
The most important thing.
I think all of us, can take fromthis podcast is permission to

(27:40):
tilt.
This is not something we havebeen trained in.
If you've got ambition andyou've got focus and whatever
else you are using every minute.
I remember being trained back atlike uni time using net time.
So time in the car was time tolearn a podcast or through a
audio book.
You wanted to, try and maximizefood time by filling it in with

(28:02):
something else that you could belearning or doing.
I admit I'm at next level crazyon this, but I do feel like this
is something that society hasabsolutely ingrained in us and
there's very little permissionout there in that whole 5:00 AM
club or how to do greatleadership in that space.
And so that unlearning that I'mkeeping on trying to channel is

(28:22):
about, this is the way tosucceed, is to actually build in
those tilts.
I love that you've given us somecues in terms of what to look
out for, because I don't thinkthere's many people that would
say they can't tick those boxestoday.
Maybe we just all need a bitmore of a tilt I like also that
you spoke about the differentlevels of tilting because I feel
like it's not a passive thing,Yep.

(28:42):
You might actively decide towatch a TV show between eight
and nine, but you can'tpassively.
Give away your time and go,okay, well I've had, I've had
some downtime, now I need to getback into high energy.
I'd like us to think abouttilting as, a new lens or a
strategic move where we makespace for new great ideas to
arrive new acquisitions ofskills.
So AI learning can't happenuntil you've had downtime and

(29:04):
time to give your body time torelease some of that good stress
and be able to take on some newthings.
Slow, thoughtful planning, alovely slow walk outside in
nature.
For me it's bike riding orcreating, so it's an active
tilt, but it is absolutelyimportant.
I think from an imaginationpoint of view, you can't get
into your subconscious, intoyour creative soul when you are

(29:26):
in high stress.
it doesn't kind of work.
There's a nice quote from theShape of Things unseen.
It's a book by Adam Zenman.
Imagination is not anindulgence.
It's embedded in every functionof thinking, planning,
remembering, and connecting.
And to be able to tap into that,you need to tilt without space
to reflect or daydream or lookout the window on the train or

(29:46):
in the car, we lose access tothat full problem solving
potential.
That is for most of us, oursuperpower, particularly when
we're getting into those middlemanagement roles.
Found it also interesting,Claire, where you were talking
about the things that just haveto happen in life.
So I think it was in your keypoint too.
Which was around the fact thatthere is going to be hard times,
there is going to be hardconversations, et cetera.

(30:07):
And I have never really listenedproperly to the Dalai Lama.
I've loved his quotes.
I've always felt inspired, butI've never really read his book.
I read The Art of Happiness andI was like, whoa, this is pretty
dark.
He kind of just tells you toaccept sorrow, accept hardness,
but it's about the way that weinterpret it.
It's about us having thatpositivity.

(30:29):
We can't always control theelder circumstances, but we can
always control our response andtilting that response.
So if you are finding, maybe youhaven't had a big surge, but
you've had a lot of trauma withthe news cycles and the things
that are going on that this canbe our response and this can be
the way that we look afterourselves and our families to
work through this.

(30:50):
Taking a mindful pause orresetting our energy, often
creates that clarity that weneed for that next effective
surge or just that nexteffective project.

Claire (30:58):
I'm going to add The shape of things unseen to my
Good Reads list.
Thank you for that bookrecommendation.
And I love that quote from theDalai Lama.
One of the concepts of Buddhismthat really helps with anxiety
and stress is exactly what yousaid.
We can't remove suffering.
We can't remove our negativethoughts or our negative
emotions.
We have to accept that's partof, our existence.

(31:22):
So we are not trying to look fora way to never be stressed angry
or upset or have any of thesenegative feelings.
It's about sitting with them andletting them be there.
And trying not to push themaway, but just having that
acceptance level.
So I really think that's greatthat you've brought that into
this conversation because Ithink in today's world many

(31:43):
people are trying to look forthe social media life that just
doesn't exist.
We all have things that we haveto handle every day.
And so that's really great thatwe're talking about that as part
of this tilting and surgingepisodes.
I think it really fits innicely.
you know, Some really practicalexamples of tilting could be
overcoming your FOMO anddeclining or delegating optional

(32:06):
meetings to focus on deep work.
Stepping back from being thego-to problem solver and letting
your team or family One of myfavorite things that I say to
the managers who have youngerkids no one ever died if they
had cereal for dinner.
It's all good.
set yourself some emailboundaries, like responding to
non-urgent emails within 48hours.

(32:27):
They don't have to be attendedto immediately.
In a personal context, as Imentioned before, it might be
saying no to weekend socialcommitments.
Again, getting over that FOMOand getting into the jomo, the
joy of missing out so you canhave unscheduled time at home to
use maintenance mode during busyfamily periods and give your
self permission to let thehousehold run on good enough

(32:49):
mode rather than a well oiledmachine.
I That's actually one that I'vehad to work on over time where.
I like a clean, neat space torelax in or read a book or when
I get home.
And I used to take the approachthat I needed the whole house to
be clean and organized, andtidy, but now I've managed to
basically say, right, i'm goingto just have one room that I'm

(33:10):
going to make all gorgeous andnice so I can sit and have some
clean space time.
Proactively using your commutetime to read a fiction novel or
listening to a mindfulnesspodcast.
Fiction is creative rest.
So reading fiction novels is oneof my favorite go-tos and having
a no screen weekend day, or evenhalf a day off screens on the

(33:31):
weekend is so fabulous for ourbrains to defrag and to give us
some space.
So crucial thing is that we'reframing these as intentional
choices, and that we're alsodoing things that still make us
feel comfortable.
I can't sit in a.
Pigsty of a room, but I don'thave to have the whole house.
It's about being intentional andabout knowing yourself and what

(33:51):
you need to find ways to tilt.
And as you said, Miranda, Ireally liked your example of
active tilting.
So for many of us that

Miranda (33:59):
Hmm.

Claire (33:59):
at warp speed, you can't just go and sit on your bum.
it has to be an active or doingactive creative work and, and,
That counts.

Miranda (34:08):
Couldn't agree more.
And I really, it's fascinating'cause I think when you said the
No Screens weekend or thathalftime, a lot of people would
assume that watching TV is atilt, but actually we are
receiving so many messages,whether it's advertising or
whether it's.
News et cetera, and our poorcortisol levels just never get a
chance to calm down.
So having that time just todecompress and to breathe is so

(34:33):
important.
In whichever way you find it Idon't believe that the busyness
of the world that we live in ishelping us in terms of managing
our energy levels.
And thank you also for giving mepermission to read again.
I do audio books because I doabsolutely love reading.
But it's just one of thosethings where it's like you feel
so guilty taking that time justto sit and read a book.
From a business lens, justremembering to practice tilting

(34:56):
and schedule it.
And here's the other thing,guarding it like I would busy
work.
Obviously when you're busy andwhat your objectives are and
you've got lots of things goingon, you can protect that time.
But I think that is where it'svery easy to let people correct
on that boundary when it's sortof just your tilt time or your
focus time.
Taking your initiative there andgiving yourself that space
because this is your opportunityto get clarity on what moves the

(35:17):
needle.
So if you're not giving yourselfthat time, you're not getting
that clarity, you're not helpingwith that future planning,
you're going to continue to rollinto that busy, not active.
Planning out the next threemonths, when you actually sit
down, you write it, you put iton a plan, it's like, oh no, I
got this.
And then just that getting readyfor that next surge, because
like ying and yang they've gottawork together, right?
And you've gotta be able toagain, feel like you can control

(35:37):
what that future looks like foryou.
So just some other thoughts interms of being able to enjoy our
tilt time and maximize it.

Claire (35:44):
As you said, I, in this world of AI and tech
acceleration, great point thatnot necessarily a TV show it can
be, a fun, activity to do, butnot necessarily is it a tilt
activity.
And just to be aware of I guessthe stimulation of that and to
be offsetting that with.
A novel or doing some othercreative activities.

(36:07):
And Tilt is where our judgment,empathy, and values come in.
It's that piece of life andleadership that's not just about
moving fast, but it's aboutchoosing to move more
meaningfully.
I think the one last thing,which we have spoken about a
little bit, but just to reallycall it out, is that emotional
labor of holding space for otherpeople can take its toll.

(36:29):
So managing team dynamics,family dynamics, building a
thriving culture at work, abeautiful home life.
It's leadership work that'sactually.
Effectively invisible.
It's essential, and it does takea lot of energy.
being that safe person thateveryone comes to vent to or the
mental load of rememberingpersonal details about your
teammates and your people, ornoticing when someone's

(36:51):
struggling and checking inmanaging the energy and mood of
the room or a meeting having touse surge energy to really have
effective meetings.
And that invisible work impactstheir energy differently than
visible tasks.
You can't delegate sensing thatteam dynamic and you can't batch
process being emotionallyavailable.
But you do have to bethoughtful, as you said around

(37:13):
actually today I am feeling abit drained.
I can't talk to someone while Ihave my lunch or I shouldn't be
working through my lunch.
I should be stepping away.
Replenishing my energies andthen having that conversation
and it really is a very active,mindful and takes a lot of
self-awareness for us to bedoing those things.

Miranda (37:32):
No.
Absolutely, and I'm really gladyou called out the invisible
labor of leadership because Ithink.
Some days that feels heavy.
And to your point, I potentiallysurge or tilt is a really
difficult time to be able togive that energy back there's a
lot of time in between.
There's a lot of time in theyear where we can look at it at
the consistent performance.

(37:54):
And can we put those times inwhere we put real energy around
that invisible labor or how elsecan we schedule it in?
So if, like, let's go back toour energy calendar you've got
your best energy first thing inthe day.
You book it in, first thing inthe day.
If you think.
I used to love a lunchtime walkwith somebody if they needed a
chat.
It's like, let's get outside.
Let's go for a walk, let's talkabout it, it's just a different

(38:15):
conversation.
It's a different dynamic.
There's different energy to it.
Maybe knowing when you're insurge, when you're in your day
consistent performance mode andthe types of conversations and
how you need to schedule themcould help in that space.
I've kind of related surging tothe Mario Superstar.
Do you remember the Mario Game?
And you'd like click on the Starand you'd get like this

(38:35):
incredible power for like 20seconds and you'd be able to
Click on the Superstar.
You get this beautiful surge.
You are basically invincible forabout 20 seconds.
You can run through the baddies,you can jump over the big
heights.
It is a superpower, but thenafter that, everything feels
like it runs slow for about 10seconds.
It's like Mario's catching backup to his energy and you've, you

(38:56):
are trying to get back into thatslower, normal mode.
And then there's just the normalday-to-day mode.
So I think if we can think of itlike that, surges don't happen
forever and they shouldn'totherwise, we have burnout, we
have overdrive.
And I'm loving the overdrive.
It's just a mind consciousnessbecause.
I feel like that is where wewant to be.
And actually consistentperformance is probably the
safer place to play unless youreally need a surge, right?

(39:18):
So again, owning that power andowning that time and how you
schedule it.
I've got another quote just toround us out here and another
book.
So we've got take a Shot atHappiness by Maria Baltazzi who
reframed this"Action doesn'tneed to be grand, small, brave
choices compound into the lifethat you want".
That couldn't be more perfectfor elevate with grace.

(39:39):
It's taking those small bravechoices as opposed to always
needing to be on with thatsuperstar.
The superstar's rare, what's ourreentry strategy?
Is this some little microsurgesthat we can do to help, Take,
get some little wins and then goback to that consistent
performance.
So it doesn't always feel likewe've gotta be this constant
busy schedule.
We've gotta constantly beperforming and giving, 150%,

(40:01):
let's aim for a hundred percentas much as we can throughout the
year.
It's also important just tothink about, when we're not
actively creating that we areproblem solving in quiet ways
that we're rewarding ourselvesfor.
All the days, not just the surgedays.
cause that's the other thing,like you said, at the start of
the episode, when you're insurge mode, you feel like you're
winning.
You feel like things are great,I've got all this energy.

(40:21):
When you're in tilt mode, you'refeeling lazy and you're probably
beating yourself up becauseyou're not doing enough work.
And, and just all the other daysyou're like, why can't I be like
that person that got the 150%done?
hopefully this episode's broughtsome awareness that, it's a
balance and that surging andtilting have to be in balance.
And actually there's a whole lotof other times in the year where

(40:42):
it's just smart to be acting andperforming at a really
comfortable level.

Claire (40:46):
I think you've articulated the yin and yang of
strategic surging and tilting sobeautifully there.
Miranda.
I think it's the perfect stepoff point for our episode.

Miranda (40:56):
I.

Claire (40:56):
Love Mario in our house, so it's so great that you've got
a Mario analogy in there too.
That's fantastic.
I think that it's been aabsolutely wonderful
conversation.
I've really enjoyed thisconversation.
We've explored that surging isharnessing that momentum and how
to supercharge with the MarioStar, your impact during peak
periods.

(41:16):
Tilting is rebalancing withintention and with
self-awareness of your naturalrhythms and giving yourself
permission to tilt and howsurging and tilting is a yin and
yang harmonious balancing actand really mastering that
balance in my mind is futureready leadership personified and
what we need to thrive in ourwork and life.
I hope you've enjoyed thisepisode too to our listeners,

(41:38):
and thank you so much, Miranda.
Your insights are great and Ialways love that I come away
with a few more books to add tomy Good reads list when we chat
at.

Miranda (41:46):
Likewise, Claire.
Thank you.
And what a great topic toexplore.
I think my key takeaway for thisabsolutely is surge when it
serves you.
And then knowing where tosoften, when to support, when to
step back and empower other teammembers maybe to take on that
surge mode.
as always, at the end of ourepisode, we want to make sure
that our listeners have awonderful action challenge and
ourselves.

(42:06):
We take it on with you.
So this month is to reflect andplan out your next key surge
period.
So even if we just look to theend of the year, for most of us.
It gets pretty hectic.
So, we're coming up to December.
There's going to be at least onesurge.
You're going to need to pop inbefore the end of the year so
what worked and what didn't thelast time you're in surge mode.
And then can you calendar insome small tilts so that you've

(42:29):
got sustainable momentum, you'vegot great energy as you lead
into that sort of key surgemode.
See how you go with that actionchallenge should be a lot of
fun.
Next month we are going to carrythis on with hopefully some
inspiration in the tilt phase,but also just in the maintaining
energy on an every other dayexcept for your surge mode
phase, which is around thecreative cure and why

(42:50):
cultivating creative expressionis going to fuel success.
So I cannot wait for this one.
I am incredibly passionate aboutfinding and cultivating your
creative superpower, whateverthat may be.
And we are not going to belimited to one.
There is a lot of different waysto create.
So yeah, can't wait to join youfor that one, Claire.

Claire (43:08):
love the challenge for us to dive into perfect time of
year.
As you said, this time of yeartends to head straight chop,
chop all the way into Christmas.
And so I really like that.
This seems like a great time tobe thinking and reflecting on
our surging and tilting so muchgoodness in these episodes.
Thank you to our beautifullisteners for tuning in.

(43:29):
I know that creativity andcreative pursuits are a massive
passion of yours, Miranda, soI'm really looking forward to
next episode.
In the meantime, we've put allthe curated content we've
mentioned today in the episodenotes, so you can check it out.
And dip into the stuff thatresonates with you to take small
actionable steps for your ownsuccess journey.
For more inspiration, check outour socials on Instagram and

(43:52):
LinkedIn.
We'd love, love, love to hearfrom you and how you're going.
So please drop us an email atElevate with [e-mail].
Please, like and subscribe toour podcast or send it to a
friend.
We get some value out of this tohelp us get to more people.
We'd really appreciate it.
Can't wait to chat again soon.
Take care, Miranda.
Take care everyone.

Miranda (44:12):
Thank you listeners and huge thank you, Claire.
Appreciate you.
It's been another great funepisode.