While attending a leadership development course a few years ago, a funny thing happened. My rental car came with one of the old style GPS units that stick to the windshield. It certainly came in handy as my international cell phone didn’t work. The first time I used it to find a restaurant. The ladies voice came on with directions. “Turn Right”. “Proceed to Turnaround Drive!” That’s funny I thought then she said it again. “Turn right on Turnaround Drive!” Well, “Turnaround Drive” didn’t exist & there wasn’t a road there. Now what? Maybe it just needed to catch up with the satellites. Eventually, there was a road & I got dinner. Every time I went in that direction she told me the same thing…too weird. After the second time, my mind started to wonder if the GPS unit was trying to tell me something.
Was my life direction headed the wrong way? Did I need to “turnaround”? If so, what direction should it be? Was the leadership development class the right decision? Is it in line with where I want my life to go? Hard questions, necessary for sure.
Rocks in Your Backpack
A mentor once told me to get rid of the rocks in my backpack. Interesting way of compartmentalizing the unnecessary emotional baggage we carry around. The beliefs we attach to what “should” have happened only get in the way of the good we can do in the future. Work through the emotions, learn what you can & focus on doing your best the next day. It all begins in our mind. We can’t control it, we can only develop a healthier kind of detachment, a new perspective on how thoughts come & go. It’s our conscious choice to attach meaning or value to them. Keep only what reinforces your true self & let the rest pass as part of a healthy active mind.
Day Tight Compartments
In Dale Carnegie’s book “How To Stop Worrying and Start Living“, he introduces the concept of living in “day-tight compartments”. A great way of looking at our efforts each day toward the life we want to lead. When we do our best each day, live our truth & keep a learning mindset, we can look at ourselves in the mirror each night with a feeling of satisfaction. We did all we could do that day. Get some rest & start again tomorrow. Simply getting busy “doing” will help keep the worry bug away. After all, when we worry we have to suffer twice (at least).
Time or Energy
Everyone has a different way of approaching each day. If you are a time management person, this may resonate. Heard this way of thinking about our time from a speech a few years back. Here’s the 2,10,5,7 rule…
-2 hours upon waking for self-improvement & organizing your day
-10 hours facilitating others success through working inside our strengths
-5 hours family/friends connection time
-7 hours of sleep
Structure helps & is a must. No matter if you lean toward time management or prefer an “energy” focus, some structure will benefit your constant improvement. Your daily “plan” speaks volumes to the dedication you have to your life goals.
Two Leadership Surprises
The secret to concentration is elimination. The less you do the more you can accomplish. What? We can’t give away what we’ve been asked to do, can we? This isn’t always intuitive but it’s true. When we delegate our weaknesses it creates opportunities for others to develop their talents. When we work in our strengths it projects how everyone can bring value to the enterprise & grow in a positive direction. This wise approach leads to increased individual/team engagement, retention & builds trust. High performing teams have realized not only connection but the extension of their collective abilities.
So, what about those rocks in my backpack? Still working through getting over the ugliness of past events. They are part of my narrative but don’t have to define me. The journey to learn from them before throwing them out can be painful but if you’re a real leader you must listen & learn from them. People are counting on you to be at your best & how we deal with life’s trials/tribulations is often the measure of who we are.
All the best!
Karl
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