January always seems to hold promise for me. I’m sure you’ve felt the same way, too.
For the past few years, I have made time during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day to take an inventory of where I have been and where I need to go to live out my purpose and achieve my dreams. However, sometimes I am too action oriented and forget to plan time to invest in myself.
When you have the desire and drive to have more, do more, be more, you have to first become the person who can accomplish those things. You have to “add value” to yourself, as John Maxwell puts it. You cannot produce more unless you invest in yourself first.
This is where a lot of people fall short, myself included. We often don’t see the point of investing in ourselves when there are so many other voices crying for our time and attention. However, you have to understand that you cannot give what you do not have. If you don’t invest in yourself first, you won’t have anything of value to give those who are depending on you.
The importance of small changes applied consistently.
If there is an area of your life you want to improve in, don’t underestimate the power of small shifts. We often think that big results require big changes and action, but I have found that even small changes can have a disproportionately large impact on results.
Let me illustrate how investing in yourself can have a ripple effect.
- Imagine you want to improve the team cohesion on a culturally and/or racially diverse team.
- You decide to take the time to learn about cultural dimensions and the strengths of different cultures.
- As a result, you begin to recognize and value individuals from various cultures for their strengths.
- Finally, you can watch as your team follows you example and begins to respect and value each other for their strengths.
If you want to have more, do more, or be more, you have to first become more. You must intentionally invest in yourself in order to become the person who can accomplish your hopes, dreams, and goals.
Take It Deeper
Sometimes it’s hard to know where to start. If you would like to go deeper on this topic, I hold free exploratory coaching sessions each week. You can register online at Troy Communications or email me to schedule an appointment at TMTroy@TroyCommunications.Net.
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