Take a moment and think about a decision that you made in the past that makes you feel proud of yourself. How did that decision influence your future choices? Most of us tend to continue with similar patterns because we like feeling good about ourselves! For example, I recently learned I am diabetic. I should have guessed since I know diabetes is present on both sides of my family and I know the signs. After three months of being much better about my diet and exercising, I learned my A1C is much better and even got a "Wow! Great work" from my doctor. I am now even more motivated to keep going - even though I still miss bread, pasta, rice and sweets!
In contrast, no one intends to become an addict. The consequences are too high. Sometimes, they know there are risks but get swept up until the point where they are unable to stop. The addiction becomes more important than family, friends or the comforts of a home. Given the opportunity to change the decision to start, in hindsight, most would.
Think also in terms of your exercise. Men tend to have stronger upper bodies. Women tend to have stronger lower bodies. One would think that to have better strength balance, men would work on their lower bodies and women would work on their upper bodies. That's not what we do. Men tend to continue to work on their upper bodies and women tend to continue to work on their lower bodies because we all like feeling good about that at which we are better!
Learning good habits early on is better (easier) than going through the work of unlearning bad habits later. For instance, if I would have learned when I was younger that I liked vegetables more than sweets, I probably would not have become diabetic. Trying to change to learn to eat vegetables more than sweets is a daily struggle.
But how do you apply this in the workplace? Good decisions in the workplace might look like finding a mentor or resource who is a good role model for the type of work and worker you want to do/be. Focus on ways to make decisions that fill you with pride so you can feel good and continue on that path. Focus on learning your strengths so you can be masterful and proud. Focus on patterns and work ethic that you can follow through with in your career to build job satisfaction. Find ways to keep yourself motivated to set even higher goals!
These suggestions are easier to set you up for success. After a good start, then look at next steps and sustainability! To learn more how to increase your wins, email Mako & Associates at DeeAn@MakoEd.com or 206-992-7484.
