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Reports : Getting the best from yourself at work and in wider life
This article by Pete Rogan, Future Positive Consulting looks at life balance, goals and setting targets for unlocking your potential as managers and in your wider-life
So, some good questions it’s worth asking from time to time:
• What does the big picture look like for me? What’s all the hard work for - what do I want to achieve in life? What am I passionate about? What really motivates me, gets me excited, makes me proud to be who I am? (Let’s call this your Vision and Values to give it a name – see the Vision and Values action in the attached pack)
• What are the key roles in my life? (For example, Mother/Father, Husband/wife, Friend, Manager, Runner, Golfer etc) What is important to me about these roles, where could I make a difference this year, where could I make a breakthrough, change something that’s been an itch for ages? What are my goals for each this year?
• Am I actually investing time managing myself or am I surrendering a fair bit of control and pretty much just reacting to stuff that happens to me? Do I have clear goals that I really want to achieve or just a hazy and general bunch of hopes and stuff I might round to? Do I have a simple and easy system that works for tracking my goals and keeping me focused, confident and energised? All sorts of evidence, from big academic studies to good old common sense suggests that the more often we reflect on our aims, our present reality and our next actions, the more likely we are to be able to steer things in a favourable direction. To not do means we are opening ourselves to some kind of drift and putting circumstances and other people’s priorities in charge of our time and choices. Why bother? As they say in the L’Oreal ad’s “because you’re worth it”
Peter's tips would be two things:
• Spend some time (say an hour) reflecting on how the next 12-months really could be a great year for you. Write down some goals (five or six will be plenty) you are genuinely committed to (if not downright passionate about). Keep the list somewhere where you can see it easily and often.
• Spend some time developing the habit of reflection. (Pete says that "No saffron robes or joss sticks are required (though don’t let me stop you)"! Even taking 15 minutes a day to clear the mind, reflect on what has gone well, lessons learned and goals for tomorrow can, when developed as a habit, make a significant difference over time, increasing our success and decreasing stress. It’s the ‘not-so-secret secret of success’.
Recommended reading:
Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich”. First published in 1933, Peter argues that this is a timeless (if slightly overstated) success-literature classic on creating a vision for ourselves and pursuing it with some drive.
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