How To Bounce Back
You know that feeling when you realize you're not perfect?
And then you realize you're more than not perfect, you're completely useless?
And then you start to question what you're doing, who you're with, and why you're doing it?
Yeah.
It happens.
The trick isn't not having it happen.
The trick is bouncing back.
This is one of those "simple but not easy" kind of things.
How to get through it:
Have an anchor or two.
It helps if you have a list of things you believe in or core values. This will help you focus on what you know to be true about yourself in a time where uncertainty fogs your vision.
Have a mentor.
If you have 3 people in your life who you can talk to for a half-hour a month about what you're afraid of and how to develop more strength, you've won the lottery.
Have some forgiveness.
You're where you are. Seriously. Accept it. That doesn't mean you're not going where you want to go. It just means a little forgiveness will help you focus on bouncing back instead of wasting energy beating yourself up.
These are just three things that have worked for me.
I like to say "a lot of advice is people saying: 'here are the numbers I used to win the lottery,'" so these might not work the same way for you.
Let me know what you think.
2 Minute Action
- Think of one person who you admire. Call them and ask if they will be your advisor and talk with you once a month.
- Write down a few core values. They won't all be perfect or right, but you can re-evaluate every couple of months and evolve over time.
- Look at where you are and consider what it would take to accept your failures. I bet you it only takes 2 minutes to do this for the first time.
The Surprising Similarity Between Sports And Productivity
Here is one of my favorite comics:
Forget about the sports for a second.Have you ever heard this kind of talk in your work?Let me try to translate a bit into “office-speak.””Well, Bill, we want to make more sales but we keep calling and no one is getting back to us.”(The symptom is presented but there is no effort applied to figuring out if the problem is rooted in the quality of the leads, the script of the cold call, or how well the product solves the need of the customer.)Or how about . . .”Franks report says we need to execute more proposals this week. I guess we’d better keep calling and sending our emails.”(Here, the goal is vaguely defined--“more” isn’t a good goal, and working more hours is not a sustainable solution.)
There are two main mindset problems that led to these examples:
1. There is no investigation or identification of impediments (the things that might be slowing you down or preventing results).2. There is no analysis of things that are working or not working about the current approach.The fix is simple: get specific about what needs to be achieved and work backwards to how you’ll get there within the constraints of your team.
Simple but not easy.
Stop trying to make gears turn faster in a gearbox. It burns people out and doesn’t improve results.Set clear, reasonable goals to get small wins.
2 Minute Action:
Look over your “to-do” list for today.How many of the items are written in a way where you can definitely say “yes, this is done?”Is the task to make a call or is the task really to get the person on the phone to sign up?Is the task really to send a contract or is the task really to close the deal?Measure the end result.Be specific.You’re all set.Lets have a productive day.
A Little Known Shortcut To Instantly Increasing Efficiency
You're not going to like this one.It's one of those "simple but not easy" idioms.
If you want to increase your efficiency or productivity:
Delete most of your tasks. I get that this is a bit of a clickbait-y headline, but stick with me.It's important to focus on what matters.Email is everyone else's to-do list for you--so don't start your day with that.Phone calls feel urgent, but if it's important enough to pick up, they'll call you again.Meetings can either be delivered as an email or scheduled as a phone call instead. If you absolutely HAVE to go to meeting try standing up. We tend to get straight to the point when we're standing instead of sitting.You get the point.What else do you NOT have to do, today?
2 Minute Action:
Check your to-do list and run through it with this question in mind:What would happen if it didn't get done? How bad are the consequences?Just remember that every item on that list should fight for its life to stay there.Delete a few excess tasks every day and then multiply that by a lifetime?Now we're talking.