“The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good people to do what he wants done, and self restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.” – Theodore Roosevelt
Delegate them get out of the way! Don’t micromanage! You hired them because they are smart, qualified, and the right person for the job, right?
Once you’ve trained them and have the systems and processes in place for them to succeed, let them do it. There will be bumps in the road and nobody is perfect, but if you let them learn without catastrophic consequences, they’ll be better off for it and you will too.
Train your mind to be stronger than your emotions.
It doesn’t matter how much you want something, if you don’t train your mind to be stronger than your emotions, you’ll constantly be taking one step forward and two steps back.
Think about wanting to get in the best physical shape of your life. First, you need to set a SMART goal. Then, you need to figure out why that goal is important to you. After that, you need to put a plan in place to achieve your goal. During the planning period, you may be doing research to complete the perfect plan (which doesn’t exist), but that should not stop you from getting started (done is better than perfect). Lastly, you need to find an accountability partner who makes sure you are actively and consistently working towards your goal.
If you let your emotions take over (especially your negative emotions), you’ll find an excuse to not do what you know you need to be doing! It feels better (at the time) to stay in your warm, comfy bed and sleep in. It feels better (at the time) to eat another serving or to have dessert or to have a bedtime snack. It feels better to sit on the couch and watch tv or scroll on Instagram. For every short-term pleasure, there is a long-term consequence. And if you really want to achieve your goals, you have to train your mind to be stronger than your emotions (and just doing what feels good in the moment).
So what’s more important to you? A little extra sleep? Or getting up, keeping that promise to yourself, and striving towards your goals?
Trust me, in the end, you will feel so much better about yourself knowing that you set a difficult goal and you achieved it. You persisted through the ups and downs. It was simple, but it wasn’t easy, and not many people are willing to do what you do to get what you want.
Train your mind. If you listen to your emotions, listen to the positive ones that are pushing you towards your goals. Use those! But steel your mind. Make it so strong that your negative emotions cannot overcome you when you put your mind to something.
We all will face adversity in life. It is what it is. But our attitude will help determine how we get through it. Damian Lillard, one of the NBA’s premier scoring guards has gotten off to a rough start to this season. When asked about his struggles, he said the following:
“I always look at struggles as an opportunity to show my true character. When things go great there’s a lot of praise that goes along with that. A lot of people give you a lot of credit. They speak highly of you on social media, TV. ‘Oh Dame had 60, Dame had 50.’ They speak really highly of you. But I think it says more when you’re going through something and s— is kind of hitting the fan and you’re struggling and everybody’s got something to say and to me the real ones, they can keep on trucking and keep on going and still find a way to get the job done.
“And, me personally, I love when those opportunities present themselves. Because when I am riding high and when I do get smoking hot and when I get going people are going to look at it and be like, ‘We remember when you were struggling and you didn’t shy away from it.’ I think it will be more respect for the success when they see how you handle failure and how you handle struggle.
“So, personally, I embrace that. It’s not fun. It’s not easy but it’s part of my DNA. That’s how I got to this position. I’m not angry about it. I’m frustrated with it. I do see it as a challenge and it’s one I accept and I know I’ll come out on top like I always do.”
I especially love the last part that he lays out. He embraces the struggle! It’s what has made him who he is. He doesn’t get angry about it because what’s done is done. But he does get frustrated and use it as fuel. He sees it as an obstacle to overcome, and he has the confidence in himself – the belief in himself – that he’ll get the job done.
We should all embrace failures, struggles, and setbacks this way. We shouldn’t be happy that they’re happening to us, but what is moping around going to do about it? What is getting angry or pointing the blame elsewhere going to do about it? Ultimately, it’s your responsibility. Take it and figure out your next move to try to make it better.
If you complain about one aspect of your life, yet do nothing about it, chances are that you will still be complaining about it one year from now.
Most people complain because it gives them a sense of relief. It makes them feel like they are doing something about it, when really they are just venting. But if it really bothers you that much, you have to do something about it or else it will always be the same.
How many people complain about their jobs and are still there in five years?
How many people complain about their health and it’s stays the same or gets even worse in 10 years?
Stop complaining. Instead, go do something about it. If you aren’t living the life you want, it’s not someone else’s responsibility to make your dream a reality. It’s up to you to make that happen.
Tips to wake up happy during the early hours of the morning…
1) When your alarm goes off, get up with a smile. Be excited that you get to your work out, read, have some alone time. Don’t snooze. Don’t procrastinate.
2) Go to the bathroom and splash some cold water on your face. Run your wrists under cold water too. This will help wake you up.
3) Whatever you think about, you will become…if you think about how tired you are, you’ll remain tired. If you think about how excited you are, you’ll get excited. Train yourself to think positive thoughts.
4) Drink plenty of water. After not drinking any water for ~8 hours, your body is dehydrated. After drinking ~16+ ounces of water, then you can get something caffeinated.
5) When setting up at night before, try not to get too much screen time, review your upcoming day, drink some water (but not too much), lay out your workout clothes for the next morning, and go to bed early to make sure you get enough sleep.
