How long have you been doing what you’re doing?
Making a lot of progress?
You see, when you’re comfortable, slow and steady… you can make it. But it’s when you are outside you’re comfort zone, you are more alert, switched on, aware and more focused. And that’s where, honestly, all the progress is made.
Most of you may know, that I’m a Lean Six Sigma BlackBelt. This is why, everything, and I mean everything… that I’m involved in… needs to have a process.
There’s got to be steps. Nothing too complicated. Just a simple, documented, process. That shows what needs to happen. When. How. Etc.. Bonus if there’s a stakeholder map and RACI. But just the basics work.
That’s why, many who have engaged conversation with me or worked with me – I’ll try to explain things in a process-orientated manner. And if I’m seeking information… tell me step… by step.
When was the last time you wanted something and you went for it?
When was the last time you asked for something, and got it?
In life, we have so many opportunities missed. Don’t miss them. Ask the question, go after what you want, do what you want – move forward… life is short. Enjoy it.
There’ll always be a time or moment when we fall low on the scale for motivation and inspiration.
Great thing is, there’s ways to move up that scale…
Feeling tired?
Burnt out?
Done a lot of work?
Battery nearly empty?
Time for a re-charge?
Most people leave it till they’re in the red. You know… red being, battery empty. Need a break. Need to re-charge.
Don’t.
When you start to feel low. When you start to know, I’m not 100%… take a break. It only takes longer to recover if you leave it too late.
I’ve shared previously… about how, when looking at those at the top, most people think they got there very easily with the minimum amount of sacrifices.
Not true.
What happens in the background, the years of hard work… no one notices that. Only when they’ve made it, do people realise.
Similar is the path getting there.
If you’re someone working hard, but have set backs… don’t worry… it’s not linear. It’s quite the opposite. You’ll have setbacks. You’ll have all sorts of knock backs.
The important thing is you keep learning from those.
It’s the moment you don’t learn that you don’t progress.
You’ve probably heard the phrase, it’s hard to say sorry.
It’s even harder to say no.
Especially in particular settings such as work, home, etc..
Don’t let indecision ruin progress. If it’s a no, it’s a no. Be honest. Be straight. Be clear. People will respect you more.
Early(ish) in my career, there was a Vice President. He had a role in his organisation. I expressed an interest. He approached me. I was like.. wow! This guy, (senior) has approached me!! This is awesome!!
But on reflection – there were a lot of maybe’s. And as I was walking to his office to say, I’ll maybe consider it… I said no. I said, no… I don’t want to take this opportunity right now.
He said he was disappointed. I was too – for feeling like I’d let him down.
Then a few weeks later, he messaged me – Bal, I have a lot of respect for you, you said no. You didn’t mess me around.
Failure is a scary thing.
I coach/mentor a few folk. And was having a conversation with one of them recently about the fear of failure.
I usually ask them, regarding a particular situation, what is the worse that could happen?
You see, how we perceive failure today will be big. If something happened today – it’ll be huge. BUT… in a week?… in a month?… in a year?….
That’s because we learn from our failures. And that’s what makes us stronger and better.
One snippet, one moment… is all it takes for someone to form an impression. To form that opinion. To form that picture by which they’ll judge you.
Usually, there’s much more going on. Much much more.
Social Media has made it so easy for us to assume from a persons single post or comment.
Whilst everyone chooses different things to share at different parts of the day, week, month… just remember, what we see isn’t always the full picture.
There’s a lot of time, people spend, in trying to please others.
I once shared a Friday Thought… if you want to please everybody, buy an ice cream van.
Truth be told… it’s a need to be liked. To be accepted. To be part…. But the real truth is, you lose yourself. Don’t. You are you. You are unique. You are awesome.
