A lot has been going on in my life lately and I have had to really consider whether or not I have been making the best decisions regarding my personal development. I know that there are many things that I need to improve on an upon reflection, I do not have a very good success rate – yet!
Short of airing all my downfalls, I will admit that I need to make better decisions regarding my mental, physical and emotional health. I would like to give myself credit for improvement while acknowledging that I still fall short of my intended goals. I give credit in part to John Maxwell and his list of five things that he does every day. Earlier this year I attended an event in which Maxwell explained these five things.
- READ – This one I have done very well. I read every day and more importantly, I read material that will help me to become more like the person I would like to be. Material that will allow me to improve my ability to be a better communicator, leader, father, husband and the kind of person that is able to help those around me do the same. I am not here to suggest what you read but I would encourage to read something, even if it only 15 minutes a day.
- THINK – I know what your thinking – “I think all the time.” True, but the kind of thinking I am talking about is the thinking we do in a quiet space. A time when we can reflect on what happened over the last day and plan for what we will do in the next 24 hours. Most of the thinking we do is reactive to what happens in any given moment. Quiet time allows us to be more strategic on what we need to do to reach our goals.
- FILE – This one was new to me, but I have been very committed to doing this daily. I have added the act of taking notes on what I read and filing them away so when a topic comes up that I want to act on, I have a file I can go to to review the thoughts I have on that subject as well as some of the resources I have read.
- ASK QUESTIONS – I heard it said that “you don’t know what you don’t know.” It took me a little to figure this out but now I am being intentional on asking others to share what they know that I don’t. Not only does this help me, but validates the other person at the same time.
- WRITE – I am now posting three blogs a week and have seen my writing skills improve and actually feel good about sharing simple thoughts that are adding value to others. We all have a story and that story needs to be shared. There are more people than you think facing the same challenges that you are. If you story can help, share it and help someone out with your experience or perspective.
I admit that I have a long way to go to successfully achieve my goal in doing these five things every day but I do know that I have started and feel good that I am getting return on my investment.
Challenge yourself to try and do these five things every day. My guess is that once you start, you will feel the same sense of accomplishment that I have and may even make a difference in the life of someone you know.
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Barry Smith www.buildingwhatmatters.com 8/16/12 image by author
