When fear becomes a silent but deadly partner in our lives, it begins to erode our capabilities as well as our energy.
Whether employed or out of work, in a relationship or on your own, it is important to put together a business plan for your company – YOU!
This does not mean you do not care about others. On the contrary, when you begin to take charge of your life you will have more to give. Giving and sharing is an important part of personal development.
Become pro-active
We do not have control over all things and our choices at times might be limited, but we are choosing all the time. Not to make a choice is making a choice.
In my last blog I spoke to ways you can become the best employee you can by maximizing your skills. If your job is an interim one, remind yourself that you are preparing yourself for a better one.
When you are developing a business plan for “You”, anything that improves who you are is important. This benefits others as well. Be the best you you can be. You are doing it to develop you – not to impress anyone.
All companies need good management
How do you manage your time? Become a ruthless taskmaster. Develop a schedule that not only gets things done, but gives you free time as well. Keep a schedule that reduces chaos and unpredictability.
Talk to your family and work together. Everyone, even the youngest, has a part in doing family chores. You are teaching your children how to become CEO’s of their own lives. Reward them with praise, cheers, special time together, etc. Celebrate the lives of you and your family.
Challenge your thinking about potential disasters. If you are always focusing on disaster, you will end up creating a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Worry doesn’t accomplish anything unless it motivates us to do something.
What things can you do right now to prepare for a potential disaster? Create some possible plans of actions; then think of other back up plans. Then focus on the present.
We don’t know what is going to happen in the future, so worrying about it is not using your resources to its best possible advantage.
When you begin to doubt yourself, it is time to reflect on past successes. List your achievements even if you think they are unimportant. They are.
What planning and calculated risk taking was involved? How did you feel when you were working on these goals? What made them successful?
Often it is the journey that is the success. Sometimes past goals didn’t work out the way we wanted because of obstacles we couldn’t foresee, we didn’t have enough information or the goal wasn’t right for us.
Start making long term and short term goals. They do not need to be cast in stone.
We need the motivating challenge of goals. Work on some small goal each day that moves you forward. Our personal development goals need to reflect who we are, our wants and needs, not someone else’s.
Get to know you. What energizes you? What amount of time are you spending in that space? Harness that energy towards some new long term goals.
Next week, we’ll explore other ways we can prepare for potential downturns in our life.
©2012 Marlene Anderson, MA, LMHC, NCC