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Immediately improve your day. Do something very small for someone else that no one else could know about. You might ask, if no one knows you did something for someone else why does it matter? It matters because you will uncontrollably feel better. Yes, uncontrollably. You have a sense of accomplishment, value, contribution automatically.
The key is doing something small. It should be small enough that it requires very little effort and very little time (less than 60 seconds). People get caught up in making a big difference in the world. While that is admirable, its the small things you should get good at first. The more small things you do ultimately you will make big differences in the world.
What are some examples of very small things you can do to help someone else? Here are some examples:
- Make a pot of coffee in the break room especially if you don't drink coffee. If you do drink coffee, make a pot of decaf or caffeinated (which ever you don't drink)
- Pick up trash in the parking lot
- Take a cart from someone as they finish loading their car at the grocery store
- Hold the door for the person behind you
- Drop an extra donation in the charity jar
Pick just one of these or come up with one of your own. Commit to looking for an opportunity every day for one week to do it. Don't tell anyone else about your goal for the week. Now ask yourself, have I improved my day today?
Comment to this Blog with your very small ideas.
An amazing thing about life is that it is entirely up to you to make your life as successful or difficult as you choose. Sure there are plenty of forces that are beyond your control. You can determine what to do with what you have control of though. Abraham Lincoln once said (and this is one of my very favorite quotes) "Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be". Bottom line is that your success is up to you.
You might be stuck and not know how to get past whatever is stopping you. You might be in a very difficult situation that prevents you from success. To overcome your situation, put it aside and find someone else who is in a more difficult situation than you. Then, help them overcome it.
If you need help, help someone else. Through service to others, you provide service to yourself and ultimately you can overcome what is preventing you from your success.
People avoid creating systems because systems are complex. Successful people are successful because of the combination of systems they use. When successful people describe systems they use their systems almost always seem complex. So complex, in fact, that it may be overwhelming when considering such a system for you. So rather than attempting to apply the system, you never get around to implementing.
Don't apply the systems that successful people use. Their systems are just that, theirs. Rather than apply their system, simply understand two aspects of their system. First, what is the system's purpose (what result does the system produce)? And second, generally how does it work? Then create your own very simple version of the system. Commit to making periodic improvements to your version of the system until it fully meets your needs.
An example is how to organize daily to-do lists. A very successful person may have a sophisticated prioritized list of to-do items organized by what must be done today and what they would like to accomplish if they can squeeze it in. They may even take those actions that must be done today and schedule them into time slots throughout the day. To track their success, they may record deadlines against when the actions are actually completed.
If you have never had a system like this you will likely fail if you try to duplicate this system. Instead consider simply keeping track on a notepad the actions you must do each day. In a few weeks, you may find that adding colored highlights to the most important actions increases the chances these get done before less important actions. Weeks later you may find a way to implement your system in an electronic format so that you can sort and copy/paste actions.
In a few months you will have what people who don't have a system would call a complex system. It won't be complex to you because it is your system not someone else's. I may take you weeks, months, or even years but always be looking for small ways to improve your systems.
In Stephen Covey's "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" the seventh habit is Sharpen the Saw. This may be one of the most important of all the 7 habits but may be one of the most overlooked. Sure it is the last habit and you just wanted to finish the book. The other habits are so rich and grouped by Private Victories and Public Victories. The seventh habit seems to sit there by itself. Mr. Covey could have left it out but he didn’t because it is so important that it had to be included.
It is easy to go with the flow. Allow yourself to go through your day much like you did yesterday. Mr. Covey's advice is important because if you aren't learning, you aren't growing. It's easy to read a book, or listen to a podcast, or read a magazine, or attend a seminar and believe that applying what you just learned is all you have to do. The reality is if you don't keep reading books, listening to podcasts, etc. you slowly drift away from what you learned. You become less likely to apply what you learned. Your mind gets focused on something else. In order to keep growing you must keep feeding your mind. Whatever you do today, make a point to learn something new and sharpen your saw. If you don't your saw will dull.
