The Forgotten Performer In Your Circus

It's the one who will be most resistant to your new idea.

Have you made plans to address their concerns about the new direction? Thinking about the ones who will support you may make you feel warm and fuzzy, but it's the person who will not be in favor of the idea you need to plan for.

Ask the Hard Questions

Consider these questions for a moment:

• What kind of a spouse and parent am I going to be?
• Am I going to excel at my job or just do the minimum to collect a pay check?
• What do I stand for?
• Do I have a plan to reach my dreams and/or goals? Do I have goals?
• Am I following the path of least resistance or do I dare to stretch myself with hard things?
• Do I flounder trying to keep up with the "thick of thin things" or focus on what is most important to me?
• How much time do I really waste?
• Am I taking time for good recreation and intermissions?
• How well am I taking care of myself? Sleep? Nutrition? Exercise?
• Do I know my standards and stick to them - unwavering?

Hard questions? Maybe. Are questions like these important? Yes! Continually, at any age, you need to ask the hard questions that matter to you and dare to have an opinion. If you don't like the answers, you can change. You are the ringmaster of your circus!

Learning from Failure

What do you do when you fail at something? What do you do when you make a mistake or that things don't turn out the way they should?

Let's look back at the circus metaphor. You are an artist in the circus, you have a bad night and your performance doesn't go well. You could blame the ringmaster because he didn't create the build up to your performance that he should have. You could blame the crowd because they are not the refined (or maybe unrefined) individuals that they should be to truly enjoy your craft. You could also have the attitude of, "You win some, you lose some." Or, you could do something different.

The best performers are constantly saying to themselves, "How can I learn from the past and what can I do to create a better performance as a result." If something goes wrong and you don't get the standing ovation that you want, you should take ownership and fix it. There is the old adage that you can learn from history or be doomed to repeat it. What are you going to do to learn from your failures so that you don't repeat them and improve instead? Develop strength, persistence, knowledge, self confidence and courage. These characteristics will lead you to success even though you will meet setbacks along the way.

Patient with...You!

We often think about being patient with others, but how patient are you with.... you? We may look in the mirror, confront our faults and then simply walk away feeling helpless to change. The next time you find yourself being impatient with where you are physically, mentally, emotionally or even financially, try a few of these strategies to improve your point of view about you:

• If you want to improve some area of your life, remember that it takes time. Research shows that if you want a new attitude or behavior to "stick" you have to practice it for at least 21 days.
• Reflect on other challenges you have overcome and reflect on what you learned about yourself in those situations. Apply that learning to this new situation.
• Focus on your strengths. What is it that you do well? How often do you have the opportunity to engage in those strengths? If it is not frequently, what changes could you make?
• If you are trying to stop a negative habit, replace it with a positive one instead of just trying to stop the negative one. If you don't replace the void with something, something else will.
• Spend some time with people who have your best interests at heart. They can sometimes give you a more objective view of yourself.

It might seem like a daily battle, but the fight will be worth it. In the end, you will be a better you!

Moving Forward Requires Falling

This weekend I was given an interesting quote by a very wise man. He said, Walking is a series of interrupted falls. While the words did not resonate with me at that moment, I have come to appreciate them as I deal with several people in my work and life right now.

To walk we must pick up our feet and shift our weight forward. Doing either one by itself could lead to falling, but the combination of the two actions (interrupting each other) makes it work.

We work with so many people who just won't "walk" toward improving their situation. They might have the vision (leaning forward) but not have the willingness to take the risk of action (lifting their foot). Others are taking lots of risks, but don't really have a clear vision of where they want to go-or too many directions in mind. Either scenario can lead to lots of falling-or failing.

Today, reflect on how well you put the two together. Are you looking ahead with purpose as your guide and then taking the appropriate actions, or are you at risk of "falling" because you are simply moving too quickly without really letting the weight of your purpose move you in the RIGHT direction.