Carpe Diam, seize the day, is one of my favorite adages. It is a value I hold, something to aspire to. This attitude begins first thing in the morning. I believe that how we start our day has a direct correlation with the value in the rest of our day. Thus, being intentional to develop a powerful morning routine is essential.
In the hustle and bustle of our busyness, we sometimes struggle to make time for the important things in life. For me, some of those important things include personal and professional development, quiet time and staying in touch with people. What are the things you wish you had more time for?
As I combed my calendar and daily schedule for some gaps, I came across a great discovery. Monday through Friday, I have a fairly consistent block of time with no appointments or requirements. My daily commute is ripe for the picking.
If you are at all like me, then you’re looking for ways to get ahead and make the most of every minute. My commute presented a great opportunity. Perhaps you could get more out of your commute too. Allow me to share with my discovery with you.
How do you respond when your spouse, friend or family asks, “How was your day?” If you are like most people, it is all too easy to unload the various frustrations, injustices and wrongs you encountered. We tend to do this rather than highlight the good experiences from our day. Some term this the negativity bias. Put simply, it is our natural tendency to focus on the bad instead of the good. We do this at work, at home, with our children and so on.
To be honest, the negativity bias isn’t all bad. This natural bias helps us detect and avoid danger. However, when we become overly focused on the bad (i.e. pessimism) at the exclusion of the good, it can lead to a host of concerns:
People matter. If we intend to go far in life, we can’t go it alone. Are you able to take risks, pursue opportunities and achieve more because of the people in your life? That has absolutely been true for me. Without my family, friends, colleagues and especially my wife…well, you wouldn’t be reading this. I am able to accomplish my goals and pursue my potential thanks to the relationships I have. Hopefully the same is true for you. But, one thing I’ve learned is that thriving relationships don’t come easy.
What separates the most successful people from those who are simply good at what they do? It’s not talent. It’s not even skill or ability. The true mark of great performers is that they consistently learn from and build on successes. Anyone, whether you lead meetings, serve customers, cook dinner or coach rec. league soccer, can learn to do the same. Doing so leads to consistently better performance. Who doesn’t want that?
“When achievers fail, they see it as a momentary event, not a lifelong epidemic,” stated John Maxwell in his book, Failing Forward. This is a mindset we desperately need in our culture today, whereas we see failure as akin to some kind of plague. Parents go to great lengths to protect their children from failure. Our education system forces teachers to do everything except lie to protect students from failing a class.
We easily forget the failures of many famous names: Abraham Lincoln, Michael Jordan, Walt Disney, Steve Jobs. These achievers didn’t let their failures define them and went on to great success. Are we dealing with failure all wrong? How can we capitalize on our failures to spur future success?
Frankl relays to us that we have the ability to choose our thoughts, our emotions and our actions.
We’ve all heard of it, many of us have experienced it and all of us want more of it. I’m talking about “the zone.” Other terms for this are flow, peak performance, etc. Regardless, athletes refer to it in an illusive, mythical sense. Often, it seems we stumble into that special state, during which time stands still, our performance feels effortless, we are fully composed and our confidence is unshakable. Then, the instant we realize we’re in the zone, like the eye of a tornado, it’s gone. The good news is, it doesn’t have to be that way.
One of my favorite questions to ask people when I speak about multitasking is this: “Have you ever come home exhausted at the end of the day, with no idea what you actually accomplished?” The typical response is a resounding “yes.” Perhaps you’ve had that experience too. Often, this occurs because we weren’t focused enough and spent the day interrupting one task for the next every time a new issue came to us. The side-effects that seem to accompany these days are drained energy, lower satisfaction, and increased stress.
Spring is almost here for those of us in the four-season-belt of the U.S. Flowers bloom, birds sing and life returns as the chill of winter subsides. Despite the budding all around us, many people find this to be a grueling time of the year. The holidays seem ages ago and summer vacation seems eons away. Oh, and those New Year’s resolutions, how are those coming along? I’d say it’s time for a booster shot to get us refocused, energized and taking actionable steps toward our goals again.
0 items in the cart ($0.00)