Author: cbarney.45

Pay yourself first

Just like with investing, you need to “pay yourself first” by making time for self-improvement. Everybody has the same amount of time in the day. Most of us fill up that time with work, housework, watching tv, or going on social media. But how many times have you heard people say that they are too busy to exercise or that there aren’t enough hours in the day?

Many people feel that they have a shortage of time. I understand this and feel that way too. But our problems often stem from poor time management and how we can rearrange our schedule to make it work optimally. For me, I like the idea of working on self-improvement first thing in the morning. My thought process is that just as you should automate paying the first 10% of your paycheck to yourself (saving/investing), you should also automate spending the first part of your day improving yourself. I like using the morning for working on myself because it’s quiet, the day hasn’t started (so there are no “fires to put out”), and my motivation is at its highest (I’m not tired from a long day of work). Not only that, but it feels good to start your day off right. It’s easier to keep the momentum going by starting right as opposed to starting and stopping throughout the day.

Although it can be daunting to feel like you have to do a lot in the morning before heading to work, you really don’t. Start with a little at a time. Read one page of a book you’ve been meaning to read. Do ten pushups. Stretch. Plan your day/set your intentions. Think about/write down what you’re grateful for. These are just a few examples. Just remember, every little bit counts. If you can improve yourself even fractionally each day, you’ll amaze yourself at how much that adds up over time. There is no greater return on investment than investing in yourself.

Cutting corners

“How you do one thing is how you do everything.”

If you cut corners in one area of your life, it is much easier to justify cutting corners in other areas as well. Don’t give yourself permission to cheat in anything, no matter how trivial, otherwise it may lead you down a slippery slope to cheat on big things later. Even if you do something that isn’t considered cheating, is it reflecting your best work? Is there a cleaner, better, or more effective way of doing something and you just don’t want to put in the effort to do it correctly?

Practice doing things the “right way.” (Note: there are several correct ways to do things, you have to try to be objective in determining what is the best way to do something.) Don’t give into the temptation of doing what is easy, or if cutting corners when nobody is looking. Because if you do that, eventually it will erode you’re standards in everything you do. Remember, how you do one thing is how you do everything. Choose your actions wisely.

Self-improvement

Whether things are going well or going poorly, reflect as to what you could have done differently and how that might have improved your situation.

You can always improve. It’s up to you to decide how much you want to put into something and if it’s worth the effort, time, energy, money, etc.

Whatever your decision is, it’s not necessarily right for everyone. It just has to be right for you. Your situation is different from theirs. Don’t judge how others live their lives – just focus on what you can do to improve yours.

The telescope and the microscope

When trying to achieve your goals, you need to look at both the big picture (i.e., what relationships to you need to work on to build long-term success) and your day-to-day actions (i.e., what do you need to do to make some money/pay the bills TODAY).

You need to be able to toggle your focus on both sets of requirements to get to where you want to go. If you’re always thinking big picture, building connections and focusing on slow-developing results, you may never get there because you haven’t done what you need to do to keep the lights on today. For example, if you own/manage a theme park, it doesn’t matter if you’re designing a new ride if you don’t get ticket sales today to keep the park open. Your day-to-day operations need to be functioning well in order to move towards your future goals. But, if you’re not careful, you can become stuck always focusing on doing just enough to survive for the next day and never make progress towards your dreams. Toggle your focus between short and long-term results, ideally with your short term actions leading directly towards your long-term goals.

Jon Gordon makes the analogy that you need to use a metaphorical telescope and microscope. If you only have the telescope, you are always looking far away. You’re looking at the big picture in the distant future. That’s great to have a North Star to guide you along your journey, but you also need to be able to look at the daily tasks to get you there. This is where the microscope comes in handy…having attention to detail on short-term events and taking those next “most important action steps” to get you to where you want to be. Don’t get trapped into only using one instrument, as using a telescope won’t let you focus on the small details right in front of you, just as a microscope won’t let you observe the night sky.

Optimism vs. pessimism

What you search for, you’ll find. If you’re optimistic, you will be able to see the good in any situation and be able to make or take opportunities when they present themselves. If you’re pessimistic, you’ll see the negative all around you.

The optimist and the pessimist live in the same world. It’s just that the optimist chooses to see a different reality and, as a result, will get ahead more often than the pessimist.

How can you train yourself to be more optimistic today?