Why Try To Get Out Of Your Box, When You Can Use What's In It?
We can be resistant to adversity. Frustrated when something doesn’t go according to plan. Pushed back when we have to accommodate the unexpected.
Or we can look at each of those moments as part of the journey. Maybe not expected, but certainly real.
Once we own the moments (especially the ones we had no control of), the quicker we can continue moving forward.
Anything but is simply slowing ourselves down.
Stay Positive & Own It And Onward
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Putting ourselves in other’s shoes isn’t quite right. There’s still too much of us involved.
Often when we think of what we would do in another’s position, we’re not being empathetic, we’re being guided by status – we’d obviously make the right decision, wouldn’t we? Not to mention we can blow up the idea of “easier said than done” because we’d have the chance to just do it for them.
It’s misguided, really.
Perhaps it’s better to ask what would they do in our position. That forces us to empathize and understand where another is coming from. It allows for a connection of trust and listening.
People are far more likely to listen to the voice in their head than they are ours. The closer we can match it and entwine notes of encouragement, the more likely we’ll make a positive influence.
What would they do in our shoes?
Stay Positive & Follow Their Voice
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The thankful. The appreciative. The leaders.
It may not feel like it or sound like it; the news might not cover it, but it’s true.
Thank you for being you.
Stay Positive & Numbers Are Looking Good
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There’s no shortage of ideas you can come up with. The problem is in the idea squashing.
Once we have an idea, we’re quick to think of reasons not to execute on it. It takes too much time. We don’t have permission. The resources aren’t available. It’s hard work.
There’s no shortage of reasons not to execute an idea the same as there’s no shortage of ideas.
Which means the best move we can make is to act on an idea when we have it. If anything, to test the waters.
I woke up today and had the idea to email businesses about purchasing six-packs of beer for their employees for the holidays.
I could have thought: they can’t invest in that, they won’t care, isn’t it obnoxious, they don’t have the time, I have bigger initiatives to work on, I’d rather go eat breakfast, is email the right path?
Or, you know, I could just have sent 10 emails and we’ll see what happens – which is what I actually did.
If any of them work, I’ll send 10 more.
And if they don’t, I’m sure I’ll have another idea by lunch and a hundred excuses not to act on it then, too.
Stay Positive & Willpower Is There, We Just Need To Choose To Use It
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Trying to get others to act how you want them to.
Holding yourself to insanely high expectations.
Not listening to your heart.
Working to prove someone wrong.
Watching the rest of a movie that you dislike after 15 minutes.
Breaking a promise.
Never learning to smell the roses.
Forgetting about who the work is really for.
Any others?
Stay Positive & If We Know It, We Can Work Around It
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We can focus on what’s not clear. Struggle with it. Try to figure it out. Spend time evaluating.
Or we can focus on what is clear, no matter how minute.
In doing so, we often find clarity around the edges. Either that or we figure out the right questions to ask, people to ask or next step to take to get the clarity we need to keep on going.
Don’t let the unclear parts distract you from doing the work you know you could be doing.
Stay Positive & Do The Clear Things First
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When a decision has been made, life gets far less stressful.
Until we make a decision, we’re investing emotional labor into evaluating whether or not to commit.
So it begs the question of how do you know once you’ve decided?
Is it written down?
Is it on the calendar?
Have you told your friend what you’ve decided?
Once we know the mark of a decision, we can use that to our advantage and get to decision-making faster, and thus have more time to execute and contribute.
No need to wonder if you’re stalling if you know you’ve already decided.
And no need to keep questioning a decision once it’s decided, too.
Stay Positive & Decide And Onward
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