Focusing On What Matter’s

When you ask another person to do something, it may help both him and you if you tell him what to do, why he should do it, when he should do it, where he should do it, and how he may best do it.

We are all influenced by our background and experience. We perceive instructions in the context of our education, experience, heritage, the culture of our organization, and a number of other variables. Good managers know this, and they make sure that their instructions are clear, concise, and well understood.

They also know that they must walk a fine line between conveying adequate instructions and killing workers’ incentive by not allowing them sufficient latitude to do their jobs. You may strike the right balance between instruction and motivation by encouraging employees to participate in setting objectives for themselves and their teams, by helping them develop plans for achieving their goals, and by making sure that each individual clearly understands the team’s mission and his or her role in achieving it. Suggest that team members check in occasionally to report their progress, then get out of their way and cheer them on to victory.

Faith is the element, the “chemical” which, when mixed with prayer, gives one direct communication with Infinite Intelligence.

The “loneliness at the top” that senior officials often feel comes from the certain knowledge that they alone are responsible for the failure or success of the organization. They may share their authority with associates, but not their responsibility. When a sports franchise suffers a losing season, the general manager and the coaches are held accountable. They, not the individual players, are responsible for the failure of the team; the team merely followed orders. When you become the leader, when you set the course, you must accept responsibility for the outcome.

If you do a job another’s way, he or she must take the responsibility. If you do it your way, you must take the responsibility.

Those who are quick to see their limitations generally are slow in seeing their opportunities.

Movie producer Michael Todd once said, “Being broke is temporary; being poor is a state of mind.” So it is with opportunity. Whether you see opportunities or limitations is entirely within your control. How you view the world is a reflection of your mental attitude.

If you focus on your inadequacies, you will be plagued by fear, doubt, and failure, but when you focus on your strengths, you will find courage, confidence, and success. Self-confidence can replace self-doubt only by deliberate, planned effort. When you start to doubt your capabilities, pause to review your previous accomplishments. Identify every experience that might be helpful to you in your present situation. When you apply the knowledge and wisdom you have accumulated, there are few limitations that you cannot overcome.

Your real courage shows best in the hour of adversity.

Some setbacks are so severe that to give in to them means losing the whole ball game. When he assumed command of the Korean War, Gen. Matthew Ridgeway found his forces pushed far to the south, hard pressed by the invaders. Only a determined decision to hold the lines allowed the American forces to keep from being swept into the sea and to eventually regain all the territory they had lost.

When a defeat strikes, you may not have the time to withdraw and contemplate your mistakes without risking further setbacks. Don’t succumb to paralysis. It is important to know at that moment what it is you truly desire and to act to preserve your resources and your hope. If you crumble utterly, you will take a blow to your self-esteem that will be hard to repair. Instead, stick to your principles, and you will know, at the very least, that you have protected the most important thing you have. Your successes in life will far outnumber your failures.

You either ride life or it rides you. Your mental attitude determines who is “rider” and who is “horse.” No one could ride a horse if the horse discovered its real strength. The same thing is true for people.

Horses are massive, gentle creatures who are by far larger and stronger than the men and women who handle them, yet they docilely obey the commands they are given. It does not seem logical that a large, powerful animal would allow itself to be mastered by a human being, yet we have been able to use our intelligence to dominate the animal kingdom.

There is no compromise or negotiation when it comes to who will run your life. Either you take charge and live a productive life of your choosing or you allow yourself to be ruled by circumstances. But there will inevitably be setbacks. In the old West, a cowboy expression went, “There never was a horse that couldn’t be rode, and there never was a rider that couldn’t be throwed.” Like everyone else, you will have days when everything goes right and you are on top of the world. Relish those days, enjoy them, and remember them. Recall the euphoria that accompanied them when you need an extra measure of positive thinking to get back in the saddle after you’ve experienced an embarrassing and painful fall.

You can use these same forces to allow the positive side of yourself to dominate the negative. A Positive Mental Attitude allows you to tap the source of great power that resides within you, enabling you to accomplish things you never before believed were possible.

For years, athletes attempted to run a mile in four minutes but it seemed to be a barrier that no one could overcome. Then on May 6, 1954, a British runner named Roger Gilbert Bannister ran a mile in 3:59.4 minutes to establish a world record. Soon afterward, other runners broke Bannister’s record. Too often, we accept conventional wisdom as fact. Make sure you set your goals high enough. Don’t settle for less because of limitations you place upon yourself. Most of us never really reach the level of achievement of which we are capable because we don’t challenge ourselves to do so. Perhaps Robert Browning said it
best: “A man’s reach should exceed his grasp, / Or what’s a heaven for?”

It you haven’t the willpower to keep your physical body in repair, you also lack the power of will to maintain a positive mental attitude in other important circumstances that control your life. When you take charge of your fate and determine that you will live positively in every aspect of your life — physical and mental — you will receive an extra benefit. Positive physical conditioning will reinforce your Positive Mental Attitude, and your positive attitude will help you stay in better physical condition.

Remember, your mental limitations are of your own making.