Not
everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is
faced. James Baldwin[1]
One of the important things that pays off for many of us is
learning how to improve our lives by making extra efforts in the seemingly
normal things that we do everyday. For many of us, who watch others succeed
almost effortlessly in their lives, we
wonder what is the difference between what they are doing and what we are
doing. More importantly, what is it that
we can do as well as those who are our colleagues, family and friends who seem
to enjoy an inordinant amount of success.
Suppose, and this is just supposition, that the only
difference between them and us is the effort that we put forth in our daily
lives? And if is just a matter of extra
effort, how do we account for it? How do
we structure our lives so that we exceed our current daily output of success, that for us, right now, falls far short of
what we are truly capable of doing? For
many of us, we may not be sure just how to structure our extra effort to make
the improvements that we need. So let’s put something together right now and
see how it could work for us.
A Structured Approach
to Exercising an Extra Effort in our Lives.
Here are 9 essential elements for us to consider and put
into action. Feel free to modify to your
situation.
- Identify where specifically you want to see a change or improvement in your life (promotion, increase customer-base, raise, friendships, or professional admiration, etc.);
- Identify 3 activities that you can do on a daily basis where you can add an extra effort. For example (choose from this list, or identify for yourself):
- Getting to work on time, or earlier (just being present, not starting work itself)
- Greeting customers as soon as they come into your store/shop
- Following up with Customers after they have visited
- Answering the phone in 3 rings or less
- As a manager, communicating your ideas to employees more effectively
- As an employee, communicating to management or customers more effectively
- Spending more time with family members
- _____________________________________________ (your choice)
- _____________________________________________ (your choice)
- _____________________________________________ (your choice)
- Make a (mental) note of how each activity is responded to by others, and how comfortable you feel carrying out each of these activities;
- Determine which activity provided the most positive reaction or reward;
- Make it a point to practice the activity(ies) that worked regularly so that it becomes second nature to you;
- Expand or incorporate those activities that work best for you beyond your normal space (work, school, or home) to see how well others appreciate your extra efforts towards them;
- Set a timetable ( 1 week, 2 weeks or 1 month, for example) for you to see an expected level of improvement, and continue to make a mental note of any positive feedback;
- If by the end of your timetable that you have set (3 days, 1 week, or 1 month, your situation may vary), you have not seen the desired results, start back at #3 and begin making adjustments as necessary in the following areas:
- Try containing your efforts to people whom you don’t know, the response maybe easier to self-evaluate, initially;
- Make sure you are identifying activities that would benefit others almost as or as quickly as your actions would suggest;
- Know what you are expecting as a result of your actions for the long term (promotions, sales, increase customer-base, raise, friendships, or professional recognition, etc.)
- At the end of each day, prepare for the next day as to what you can do to implement your extra effort to help you achieve some phenomenal goals for you, your family and/or perhaps, your community.
As you will discover, and as you
can expect, making an extra effort to achieve your goals can make a exceptional
difference. Measuring your extra effort however, should not be compared to
anyone else’s actions or achievements.
Your results may vary depending on your
daily activity, your environment, and
the enthusiasm that you exhibit when
carrying out a structured approach of making an extra effort to achieve your goals. Only you can determine what works best for
you when it comes to determining what goals you want to achieve, and by the
timetables that you set.
Success depends
on getting good at saying no without feeling guilty. You cannot get ahead with
your own goals if you are always saying yes to someone else’s projects. You can
only get ahead with your desired lifestyle if you are focused on the things
that will produce that lifestyle.
Jack Canfield - Success - Goals - Feelings - Decisions - Focus [2]
Jack Canfield - Success - Goals - Feelings - Decisions - Focus [2]
Bear in mind too, that every
desired goal when once achieved, cannot be allowed to be achieved on its
own. Whatever you do to achieve your
goals, must be maintained. If it becomes
second nature for you to greet others with a smile, with a warm handshake, or
even picking up your neighbor’s paper and throwing threw their window in the
mornings (kidding), then you shouldn’t discontinue those actions which helped
you achieved your goals. The
expectations that you set for others in you, become extremely anti-climatic for
your relationships, as people will start to wonder what did they do to you, or
become anti-social towards you because all of a sudden, you’ve changed. So don’t begin this regiment if you can’t
continue to give your clients, friends, or associates the same quality of
professionalism for the long run, because it will be noted, and people will
respond in kind. It won’t be pretty,
especially for you and/or the goals that you have taken the time to set. Hopefully, this was helpful to you, your
feedback is welcomed.
Good luck and best wishes in achieving
your goals, and making an extra effort to achieve them.
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