So, Let’s consider: Being Average vs Being Great!
OK, so, let’s take a few minutes to look at and consider our lives and where we want to take them.
Nobody wants an average life or to be an average person. Frankly, there’s just too many of them and they generally don’t go anywhere. We all want to be GREAT! We want to be ABOVE AVERAGE. We want to succeed and make good things for ourselves and our families. So, let’s consider a few things we can adopt in our lives that maybe can help us move in that direction.
Turn OFF the TV
Fewer things waste more of our time that just passively watching TV. There is NO such thing as “must see TV” regardless of how much we’re bombarded by that slogan from the networks, etc. Frankly, just watching the tube for the sake of watching the tube, watching “your show”, etc., is a huge waster of your time that could be spend helping to develop and better you. Instead, read something daily. It can be a book, newspaper, periodicals that help to build you. And, I’m intentionally excluding things like: romance novels, trash and gossip magazines, porn, etc. You need to be reading things that will BUILD you up…not keep you at the same level or worse yet, take you down.
Make some goals
Set some goals for your life. What do you want to do with your life? Where do you want to be? Where do you want to go? Think about these things and set some goals to work towards achieving. This doesn’t mean you may change them later, you can, and you will, but you have a direction for your life, and that’s incredibly important.
Compliment people vs criticize
Think more on the positive side of things than the negative. This doesn’t mean that you give up your standards. Nor does it mean that you allow yourself or your beliefs to be walked on. But a more positive person goes places further and faster than a negative one.
Respect Change
There are those would admonish us to “embrace” change. Frankly, change for the sake of change is totally counterproductive. Evaluate what is changing and what needs to be changed. If something needs to be changed or if change is inevitable or good for you, then go for it! Make sure that the changes are in your favor, not just being done for someone else’s benefit or for being politically correct. If you don’t see a benefit for you, then that change may not be for the good.
Be forgiving
It’s important to accept that we’re all human. We all make mistakes to one degree or another, and in one kind or another. Be willing to forgive the honest mistakes of other people. I’m not saying here that you should accept malicious attacks, but when someone makes an honest mistake or mistakes out of sincere best mutual interests, accept it and move on.
Develop ideas and people
Instead of talking about people, develop them. Instead of saying everything is wrong, develop ideas. Show that you not only care about making things better but that you have positive input into the processes involved.
Be a continuous learner
Always be learning and bettering yourself. None of us know it all, and nobody likes a “know it all”. Learning is easy. There are many web based classes, youtube lectures and presentations, community colleges, even joining a local trade or hobby association can be incredibly good resources to continue your learning as well as personal and professional development. There is no such thing as standing still. You either move ahead or you fall behind. This is very true in the use and development of knowledge. Don’t stop growing.
Take responsibility
Some people like to limit this concept to just take responsibility for your failures. To me it’s more than just that. If you make a mistake, OK, own up to it and hopefully move on. Don’t blame someone else for your failures. But also take responsibility for helping other to NOT fail. Be a coach, a mentor, as well as a teacher. Also, don’t be afraid to be the student. It’s very important to know what you don’t know. Accept that. Build on it. Don’t blame others for it, but use it to identify where you need to be looking to expand.
OK, we’ve hit on a few topics. I’m sure you could probably think of a few more. If so, add them to your own personal list and build on them as you move forward to being someone great!
I’m Don Rima and that’s the view From Where I Stand.
