Beth's Blog
Lead or Follow: It’s Your Choice; Either Way, YOU WIN!
Is it just ME, or do you ever wonder how some people are constantly doing something – all the time?
I’ve decided the answer is that they choose to, and it’s a good choice.
We have been deluged with the Law of Attraction (LOA) theme in the last 12 years, or so. Once “The Secret” was let out of the bag (Press Pause: come on, now, was it really a secret?) we’ve been told to think about the power of thought. (“thought”, in this case, a noun, not the past tense of what it was we used to be thinking. Let’s not create another chicken and egg debate!)
OK, I get it. Think positive thoughts and positive things will just happen, right? Not totally out of my realm of acceptance; just a bit naive, I’d say.
If you sit around all day thinking lovely, positive thoughts…well, I don’t think there’s any secret here – nothing happens. LOA? LOL!
Here’s “the secret”…actually, the game plan:
- Think
- Decide
- Take Action
- Complete Task
- Access…………………………..and REPEAT
Thinking isn’t enough; that’s called dreaming. It’s about actualizing. The good news is that this is episodic; it’s forgiving. You can press “restart” just by deciding. Your decisions can float. You can decide to lead in one circumstance; you can decide to follow in another. It’s always your choice. Either way, you win. In fact, everyone wins!
I’m a planner. My dad used to always ask, “What’s on your agenda, today”. He was telling us we needed to have purpose. We needed to have a set of goals – if only for the day.
Perhaps, that’s what made me a list-writer. The joy of writing a list begins when you start crossing things off the list . Ah, the satisfaction. Something got done.
Then I started writing perpetual lists. One thing off the top; something added to the bottom. Ah, the empowerment.
I decided a long time ago the one thing I would never want to live with was regret (and the guy I wasted much of my 30s with!). I’d rather try and not succeed (not the same as failing), learn something and try again – or something new. Kind of like the 5-step approach, above.
I look at having choice not as another burden, but as a blessing. It’s freedom. It’s also about accountability. We must accept the results of our actions or lack of action. That’s fair.
May I offer this suggestion…please?
Before you get out of bed in the morning decide what kind of a day you want to have. Then, plant your feet firmly on the floor and take the first step in that direction. Now, you have an agenda. You have a goal. Maybe a list. You have purpose. That’s the only way you can be an effective leader, an effective follower and the perfect combination of both. We need to know who or what purpose we are serving (this is true for leaders and followers), how we satisfy a need, how we impact the world. It starts when we decide.
So, IS it just me…or do you admire those who have a plan?
Tell me, are you a list-writer? How does it help you?
Please excuse me, now…I have to cross “Blog” off today’s list!