I think the most important thing we forget is that if we are in a rush to achieve something - if we are obsessed with the end result - we forget about the means and it is the means that really matter. Anyone whos ever worked in a highly stressful, sales or outcome based environment will understand exactly where Im coming from! Let me explain :) Say you are a sales rep. You have a target to hit and a deadline in which you have to hit it. Youre surrounded by other people who are in the same circumstance and you feel pressure to perform because youre worried about what the future holds if you dont. As a result, you get more and more desperate for sales. You get more and more obsessed with the end result and you forget about those little things that contribute to achieving your target and set you apart from your colleagues and set you apart as a business. You get so desperate to succeed that you will do ANYTHING to hit your target and so therefore you cut corners, make rash decisions and do drastic, silly things. You are so highly critical of yourself that when you fail to reach your goal you berate, chastise and talk down to yourself and get angry when things dont go your way. This begins an inifinite spiral of misdirected energy, anger and frustration. Think of this approach instead. Same scenario, same context: You are a sales rep. You have a target and a deadline to hit but instead of focusing on the outcome, youve decided (key word) to improve the means. Youve decided that the best way to achieve your goal is to focus on improving the processes that get you there - as a result, you spend a little more time calling previous customers, making sure they are happy, giving them a positive service. You focus on the little details that got you that sale to begin with. If there is a gap in your knowledge or in the way you approach your goal then you take the time to work on your weakness. As a result, youre constantly improving your service and the positive feedback you receive from customers translates to more referrals from them, more leads for future business opportunities and less work making your target overall. Progress is organic - its continual, it creates a loop of self improvement and self realisation that culminates in your success in the long term. Its a PLEASUREABLE process in which you enjoy working on your weaknesses and translating them to strengths. This thinly veiled scenario is of course exactly relative to the pressures which we place on ourselves in relation to our goal body composition. You cannot improve if you are only focusing on the ends - because the stresses will accumulate to taking drastic measures which will not result in success but result in one of two outcomes: a failure to make any improvements at all, or a failure to make a lasting change. Remind yourself of those things which you do well. Those skills and virtues that you have as an individual which allow you to progress. Use those little wins and victories as fodder for tackling something that youre not so good at. Rather than focusing on the ends, focus on improving the means that get you there! Give yourself plenty of time and dont put yourself in a highly pressurised, competitive environment.
Posted on: Wed, 13 Nov 2013 22:41:34 +0000
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