Go Ahead. Be Average.Or is that not good enough for you?
Do you wish to be better than average in your career and in your life? If you do, then you need to behave in a better than average fashion.
Your Attitude Determines Your Altitude.*
The way you live and conduct yourself on a daily basis is directly related to the life you end up with. It is easy to get sucked into a life less productive and less fulfilling and more average. It is easy to give in to the noises around you and thus be distracted endlessly from the current task at hand. It takes purposeful effort to be better.
Everyday, life will happen. There will be phone calls, texts and emails. You can go ahead and enslave yourself to the rings and buzzes, or you can choose to step away and step up to a better you. Devote time away from distraction and devote to production and improvement. A study at the University of CA found that the average worker is interrupted up to 20 times per hour. This also includes self-interruptions – moving yourself from one task before it’s completed, to another or letting your phone buzz you.
You’re probably thinking about all the people around you who have given in to this life-style and are doing just fine. Except, they’re not. They are not fine, or if they are now, they won’t be for long because a life absent of thought and built on reaction will likely lead to unhappy discontent. Or, sooner or later, they will lose what they have and be replaced with someone more ambitious. Or efficient. A life of accomplishment and self satisfaction takes insightful thought and deliberate action.
It’s Obvious.
Behave in a particular way for a particular result. Yet, there is an endless supply of people with complaints that belie this sound reasoning. And it’s in all areas of life. There are those who wonder why they may often be sick and/or overweight – maybe because they dismiss the importance of proper food choices and exercise? Or how about other manifestations in their lives leading to such issues? How about those who can’t move up in their career – could it be because they are often late or unreliable, or maybe they are misplaced and would thrive better somewhere else, or maybe they are just unlikable. All these things matter. Even being likable.
I recall being out to lunch with a potential employee. He was working with me on a number of client projects that were somewhat in a rush. I had to hurry through lunch as I knew we did not have much time. He asked me to slow down because he had to still finish his ice tea. Jeez … I guess he was getting ready for his inertia to to start build up a momentum.
Do the Un-Required.
And remember … the average person works 30 – 38 hours a week just to stay even. Want to get ahead? Put in over 40. Do the un-required and un-expected. This group constitutes 5% of our workforce and it is your decision to be part of them.
The bottom line is, if you want better things to happen for you and you want to be a better person, you have to actually take the steps that move you in that direction. If you don’t improve you, your life won’t improve. If you want that better than average life, you need to make the effort to be the better than average person. So stop accepting what seems to be the norm and rise above.
Strive to be the best you and a likeable you. Think bigger. Act better.
*Jim Rohn
Categories: Relationships, Self Improvement
