Intensity works very similarly to willpower. It's impossible to operate at full intensity all the time. To be intense means you're operating at a heightened level from what you'd normally operate at. Let's look at a couple of examples of how intensity is powerful, but unsustainable.
I've heard a few different variations of a story that has always been inspiring to me. I don't know if it's actually an event that happened, but I believe the moral of the story is absolutely true. Here's how it goes.
Hannah was at the grocery store with her two-year-old son, Andrew. After shopping was done, they headed out to the car, Andrew still riding in the cart. As soon as Hannah stepped out into the parking lot, her cell phone rang and she got distracted. She let go of the cart for a split second, and a car heading straight for the cart barreled into it, knocked it over, and pinned it between the car and a nearby curb. Andrew was trapped underneath, screaming for his mom. With no other options, Hannah got between the car and the curb and, with all her strength, moved the car just enough for Andrew to crawl out. Apart from a few minor scrapes and bruises, Andrew was completely unharmed.
Another example is a story that unfolds every day on the African safari. Lions, cheetahs, leopards, hyenas, wild dogs, crocodiles — the most dynamic predators on earth. When a cheetah hunts a Thomson's gazelle, it comes up empty over eighty-five percent of the time. When a lion hunts a zebra, similar results. A gazelle is smaller and slower than the cheetah in a full-length sprint, and yet it escapes more often than not. A zebra is no match physically for a lion, and yet the zebra routinely gets away. What is the prey doing that allows it to escape? Across thousands of different types of animals, in all kinds of conditions, the same success story plays out for the prey.
Both examples exist because of one word: intensity. Hannah, under ordinary circumstances, would never even come close to being able to lift a car. Her baby boy was, in her eyes, at the brink of death, and she had no choice. The prey operates under the same conditions. As soon as the animal sees a predator, its intensity levels spike. It's literally running for its life. Never will a gazelle run faster and with more agility than when a cheetah is chasing it. The predator fails because it isn't operating under the same conditions. The predator is running for a meal. The prey is running for life.
Intensity Is a Power, Not a Lifestyle
Intensity is like willpower in that we must be intentional about how we use it. Since there's only so much of it to give, we need to make sure that when we use it, it's for the right reasons. Think about what you're typically intense about. Are you even utilizing your ability to be intense? If you are, are you directing that intensity to the right things? When we start to direct our intensity toward the right things, we begin to see unbelievable growth. We use our great capability to defy the usual limitations we have and reach new heights in moments of great intensity. Intensity is a great power — don't waste it on the wrong things.
Intensity is tied to willpower in other ways too. Like willpower, it's more like a muscle than something we simply possess. It can get stronger. When we devote our intensity to something and then allow it to recharge, we're strengthening our capacity for intensity in the future. Trying to exercise a muscle continuously without giving it any time for rest and recovery will never strengthen the muscle. Willpower and intensity operate under the same framework.
Another reason it's important to be intentional with our intensity is because it's a drain on our willpower. If I intensely engage in my work for three straight hours — intense, focused, hard work — by the time I'm done, I'll be exhausted. I'll need some time to recover before I can intensely engage again. It's when I'm tired that my willpower is at an all-time low. This is why so many people have the habit of eating unhealthy food after going through times of stress. Your body and mind are stressed by virtually everything you encounter. Therefore, the more intense I am, the more I deplete my willpower. That's why it's so important to intentionally decide what we use our intensity for.
Properly channeled intensity can lead you to do things that, without this level of intensity, would otherwise be impossible. Make sure your intensity is available when you most need it. A mom cannot consistently lift cars, and a gazelle cannot consistently outrun a cheetah. But if intensity is there when we need it most, the things we are capable of for short periods of time are incredible.
