Despite what some (media, social media, friends, family, etc.) may tell you, the only one who gets to determine your life is you. It’s not anyone else’s fault if you don’t get what you want. Don’t blame your boss, your co-workers, your customers, the economy, the politicians or anyone else.
The results you get in your professional and personal life are a direct result of your efforts, thoughts and maybe most importantly your choices.
Every day you get to choose:
- What time to go to bed to get the rest you need for the day tomorrow.
- Get to bed at a reasonable hour (whatever that means for you) or stay up late to binge watch that new series on Netflix?
- What time to wake up in the morning.
- Pop out of bed or hit the snooze button two or three times?
- Whether you want to exercise and work on your body.
- Pretty simple, either you do it or you don’t!
- What kinds of food you want to put in your body (not to mention how much!).
- This doesn’t mean doughnuts vs. kale, but rather actually thinking about what you eat instead of mindlessly shoveling calories into your stomach.
- When to arrive at your workplace.
- Do you arrive well before your shift starts or are you always rushing to get in at the last moment?
- What type of attitude you want to have for the day.
- Simple: positive or negative? Either way you’ll attract what you’re putting out there.
- Which co-workers you want to associate with.
- The ones who are successful or the “6-car All Stars?”
- Whether or not you’re going to follow up with your prospects and current clients.
- Are you going to call them or hope (and pray) that they call you first?
- Whether or not you’re going to spend time on self-improvement, skills development and training.
- You can either become better than you were yesterday or stay the same and hope things get better for you.
- To be a mentor (formal or informal) to someone around you.
- Help someone out who is struggling or watch as they flounder and fail?
- To give your all with each and every customer you come in contact with (in person, over the phone or via electronic media).
- Do they deserve the very best you can do or a half-hearted effort?
- Leave each person with the feeling of increase from having talked to you.
- Do you want to be the person lifts others up or brings them down?
You can lie to others, but you cannot lie to yourself. At the end of the day you are a sum of the choices you have made.
That’s not to say you have to be perfect. No one is. But realizing that small choices, one at a time, add up to the daily results you get. And those daily results add up to the weekly, monthly and annual results. Stack up those annual results and you have yourself the life you’ve crafted, good or bad.
How do you make choices and approach your success?
Make it a great day!
