Goals

“The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself.” ~~Anna Quindlen~~

This week I am getting back to basics. I was inspired by a local Fall Festival we attended this weekend. They had simple games like a bean bag toss and some face painting. They had a clown making balloon animals. There were no fancy rides or crazy food vendors. It was simple. And it was awesome.

Work, the job search, raising a family, running a household, LIFE… things seem to have gotten complicated, and I’ve decided that they really don’t need to be. It seems the really simple things are the things that have the biggest impact. A smile, a helping hand, a kind word, a guiding light, a hug – these are my goals this week. I will offer at least one of these to all I encounter. And my life will be better for it.

Preparation

“If your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt.” ~~Henry J. Kaiser~~

PREPARE: transitive and intransitive verb make something ready: TO TAKE THE NECESSARY ACTION to put something into a state where it is fit for use or action, or for a particular event or purpose Synonyms: get ready, arrange, organize, plan, set up, practice, put in order*

I’m taking action! It’s Columbus Day. Public schools around here are closed, as are many businesses. Thankfully, my son’s daycare is open. I have decided to use today as an “administrative” day; a day to prepare for not only the week ahead, but the rest of the year. Today is a day to get organized (again), to plan, and to adjust previous plans. Lately I’ve been thinking that if I spent half as much time preparing my work trajectory as I have my upcoming Halloween Party, I’d be a very wealthy woman! So, today’s the day! Decisions will be made, coaches will be consulted, and my advisory board will be addressed. It’s a new day at HireEffect!

How else can YOU prepare?

*Content above provided by: http://www.bing.com/Dictionary/search?q=define+prepare&FORM=DTPDIA&qpvt=Synonyms+for+Prepare Encarta® World English Dictionary [North American Edition] © & (P) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Developed for Microsoft by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.

Goals

“It must be borne in mind that the tragedy of life does not lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy of life lies in having no goal to reach.” ~~Benjamin E. Mays~~

Sometimes I lose sight of the goal. Sometimes I forget why I do what I do and I wallow in the self-pity that I create. Sometimes it takes just getting off my a$$ and doing “it” anyway to remind me of why I do what I do and how much I love doing it.

Today, I am grateful for the woman who called me yesterday, out of the blue, and asked for my help. She was referred to me by someone else she didn’t really know, and had the courage, strength and conviction to pick up the phone and ask a perfect stranger for assistance. I respect that tremendously. And, in offering her some basic job search advice and the names of some networking contacts, my mood changed. My attitude shifted. I love helping people! That’s why I do what I do. So, thank you person who shall remain nameless because I didn’t ask you if I could blog about you… Thank you, also, the person who gave you my name in the first place.

My goals, all of them, even the one in my long term 20-year plan, are about helping people and having fun while doing so! Sure, there‘s some level of selfishness in there… I deserve to have fun and to be happy.  So, here’s to my goals and to the journey of discovery along the path to reach them!

Attitude

“Attitudes are nothing more than habits of thoughts, and habits can be acquired. An action repeated becomes an attitude realized.” ~~Paul Myer~~

I observed a phenomenal training session* yesterday where participants were asked to examine not only how they speak, but also how they listen to information. There was a fascinating exercise where after learning about two basic patterns of reasoning the participants needed to identify not only which pattern they thought they responded best to, but which pattern they thought their team members would respond best to. As an observer, (and the HR Consultant for the organization receiving the training) I noticed a very real phenomenon. Each person’s attitude towards another team member significantly affected how they assumed that person wanted to hear/receive information. This may seem obvious, but think about the implications… If you dislike someone, or if you think they’re a pessimist, or a bully… this significantly sways how you deliver information to them, and could very well create a self-fulfilling prophecy. You could in effect be hurting yourself, or preventing yourself from getting what you need from the person with whom you are communicating…

What if, on the contrary, you went into every conversation, every interaction, with a positive attitude? How much more effective do you think you could be?


*A very heartfelt “thank you” to Tori Aiello and The Speech Improvement Company, Inc. for their generosity, time and commitment to excellence.

Preparation

“In the future, instead of striving to be right at a high cost, it will be more appropriate to be flexible and plural at a lower cost. If you cannot accurately predict the future then you must flexibly be prepared to deal with various possible futures.” ~~Edward de Bono~~

This may be the best quote ever! Well, OK, maybe not, but so relevant for me today on so many levels.

1. How important is it to be right? Is it worth being angry? Is it worth a fight? Is it worth losing a friendship? Is it worth wasting time and energy that could somehow otherwise be spent? Maybe, maybe not… I guess it depends on what you’re hell-bent on being right about…

2. How important is it to be prepared? How much time should you spend preparing vs. actually doing? What if you spend an enormous amount of time preparing for something that doesn’t happen? Alternatively, what if you spend no time at all preparing for something that does happen?

Maybe what’s most important is to be flexible… Fight for what you know is right when it’s really worth fighting for. Prepare for what you can, and then let it go. But, be prepared to present yourself in the best way you know how. At some point it will benefit you, even if that point is not exactly how you pictured it.

“I do not believe in a fate that falls on men however they act; but I do believe in a fate that falls on them unless they act.” ~~G. K. Chesterton

Motivation

“The world always looks brighter from behind a smile.” ~~Author Unknown~~

I’m still reading BLINK by Malcolm Gladwell (sorry, not a lot of free time around here!) and continue to be fascinated! It turns out that studies have shown that your facial expressions can actually change your emotions! Seriously! Apparently your facial expressions, even when you make them on purpose, cause significant changes to you autonomic nervous system! So, my whole thing about “fake it ‘til you make it”, or “put a smile on your face…” really DO have validity! I am so excited!

So, go ahead, SMILE! I dare you!

Attitude and Action

“Action is the antidote to despair.” ~~Joan Baez~~

Taking action, stay positive. Procrastinate, stress. Hmmmmm… Seems like an obvious choice. GO GET ‘EM! I'm off to work!