How you think, your relationship with yourself is what
decides how well you communicate with your customers
and relate to your team.
The most important relationship you'll ever have is the one
you have with yourself so you've got to get that right.
Henry Ford said, (he was the guy who started all the traffic
chaos)- "Thinking is the hardest work there is, that's why
so
few people do it".
Too often we don't think and just react to how we feel. The
successful business person doesn't react - they - "think"
Successful people have a deep understanding of their own
minds. They're aware of their needs, their strengths and
weaknesses, and their emotions. They're honest with
themselves and resultantly, with their customers and their
team.
You have to decide who runs your mind, is it you or is it
somebody else?
Let me give you an example:
I've always had a thing about good timekeeping; it's
something that's been programmed into my brain. If you agree
to meet me at 8.30 in the morning, I'll be there at 8.20; I
will always do my utmost be on time.
So I used to get angry when a member of my team would show
up late for a meeting or an appointment with me.
When I got angry I'd get stressed and end up saying
something that I regretted later. Therefore, I learned to
start thinking about the situation and try to see it from
their point of view and not let my programming run my brain.
That doesn't mean to say I ignored the lateness or did
nothing about it; I thought very carefully about what I
wanted to say and spoke to the team member about how we
would resolve this situation.
The point about this is - I'm not prepared to allow that
team member's behaviour to run my mind. Getting angry and
stressed is not good for our health and it isn't a
productive way to motivate our team.
In running their own minds successful people know what
they're good at and what they're not so good at. Again it's
important to be honest with yourself.
Some people take on tasks they're not good at, thinking that
they should be able to do whatever it is. They then make a
complete mess of it and "beat themselves up" for being so
useless.
On the other hand, don't ever put yourself down; challenge
and test yourself before deciding whether you can do
something or not.
I was once in a position to apply for an internal promotion
however I didn't do it. I got it into my head that I
wouldn't be able to handle the financial aspects of this new
management position.
When one of my colleagues, an accountant, asked me why I
hadn't applied, I explained about the financial bit. She
didn't pull her punches - "You should have applied you
idiot, you would've been able to do the financial bit it's
not that difficult and I would have helped you anyway."
You can imagine how I felt after that, I had allowed some
program in my brain to influence me and missed an
opportunity for promotion. It's important to listen to that
voice in your head which is driven by your programs, but
challenge it.
When I now hear that voice in my head saying "You couldn't
do that" I reply with "Well I'm going to give it a try
before I decide."
Successful people have confidence in themselves, they accept
their weaknesses but they don't see it as a failure. They
speak out when they don't know something and they ask for
help when they need it.
Have you ever asked a question at a meeting possibly feeling
a bit stupid and thinking everyone else knows the answer? At
the coffee break someone then says, "I'm glad you asked that
question because I didn't know either but I didn't like to
ask."
Successful people have the courage to challenge what they
hear in their own mind and also what they hear from other
people.
It's vital to run your own mind and think before you speak
or take action, however, it's also important not to think
too much. Sometimes you need to trust your instincts and
your gut feelings.
If you're interviewing someone and your gut feeling is that
this person isn't right for the job, then don't hire them.
Too often, business people suppress their gut feeling - they
think, "I must be stupid, I'm probably wrong, they'll be
okay once they've started working with me." - No they won't!
About the Author
Discover how you can generate more business by motivating
your team!
Alan Fairweather is the author of "How to get More Sales
by Motivating Your Team" This book is packed with practical
things you can do to get the best out of your people.
Click here now
http://www.howtogetmoresales.com