Author: cbarney.45

I love goals, but be careful to not view them as a checklist of things to do. When you have that viewpoint, many times you’ll be pushing so hard that you forget to celebrate once you accomplish what you’ve set out to do.

Life is about more than hitting goals. It’s about enjoying the journey on the way to reaching your goals, and when you achieve them, take a moment to reflect on all that you accomplished. If you immediately move on to the next one, you’ll soon realize how empty your life can become. You become so focused on the goal that you aren’t even happy working towards it. Then when you do get to it and find out that it’s not enough to make you happy, you push for the next goal, only to discover the same result.

Being goal-driven is great. It’s why we are where we are as a human race. But having it serve as the only purpose in your life is missing the point of life.

Don’t overvalue accomplishments, money, or things. They are worth nothing if you don’t have fulfillment, friendships, and love.

After you’ve achieved your goal, take a (short) moment to celebrate. Be joyful in the success that you’ve had. But don’t stop moving! You’ve just spent all of this time and energy (and potentially money) building the momentum to achieve this goal! Don’t stop doing what you’ve been doing. Set your sights on the next goal!

If you get complacent, you’ll lose all of the momentum that you have in your favor. You will have to restart, and reaching that next goal will become more difficult because of it.

Think of rowing a boat. It takes less effort to keep the boat moving than it does to get it started from a dead stop. The hardest part is the beginning. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot by stopping and starting over again.

People view moving into management generally in one of two ways…

The first viewpoint is that they are “moving up” in the company. They don’t have to physically go out and do the work.

The second viewpoint is essentially coming the opposite side. A common phrase for this line of thinking is “those who can’t do, manage.”

But, while there is some truth in both of those points of view, I believe that they’re both incomplete and situation-dependent. Doing the work and managing those who do the work requires two different skill sets. Just because you’re good at doing something doesn’t mean that you’ll be a good manager. You may know what to do on your own, but leading others may not be a strength for you.

On the opposite side of the coin, maybe you can’t do the work, but you can teach others how to do it. That shouldn’t make your ideas or inputs any less valued than the person completing the work.

You’ll occasionally run into the unicorn that can do and manage, which is the best of both worlds. And, of course, the last option is that you can’t do it or coach/manage it. In that case, without a lot of effort, you just be in the wrong line of work.

No matter where you are in the doing-versus-managing spectrum, be aware that these require different skill sets. Don’t be dismissive of the other person’s ideas. Instead focus on collaborating with them and you’ll all be able to achieve the results that you desire.

The next time something bad or unexpected happens to you, don’t play the victim card. Be the hero that overcomes defeat.

If something happens to someone you care about, focus on being their guide. It is not you who needs to be the hero of this story, but rather the guide who helps the hero on his/her journey. Help to put them in a position to overcome their current struggles. When you help them do that, they will realize that the power to overcome defeat is within them. But if you solve the problem for them, you’re not helping in the long run. You’re teaching them that they need someone else to solve their problems.

For example, if someone lost their job, offer to introduce them to people with whom you’re connected. Don’t just offer them money to get through this tough time. Giving someone money, while generous, is like the parable of giving a man a fish to eat. When you give a man a fish to eat, he has food for one meal. But if you teach that man how to fish, he will be able to provide many meals for himself and his family.

Help others by being their guide, not the hero of their story.

“He who loves with purity considers not the gift of the lover, but the love of the giver.” – Thomas a Kempis

“As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. ‘Truly I tell you,’ he said, ‘this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.’”- Luke 21: 1-4

When you feel something for others, when you want to give or help out in any way possible, don’t wait until you feel like you have enough. If you do, you’ll never never get started. Don’t wait to be generous. You can start giving now – helping now. And when others give to you (their time, energy, praise, or even “small gifts”), do not take their gifts for granted. Remember, it’s the thought that counts, not the size or monetary worth of the gift.

There are a lot of people going through rough times today. If you can find a way to help, I hope that you’ll seriously consider doing so.

http://www.feedingmedinacounty.org