Here are three things that I consider as I start each day which set me up to be successful that day:
1) Determination – Are you fully engaged and determined to begin accomplishing your goals today? Specifically, have you set some realistic, short-term goals and are you prepared to make progress on them? It’s good to have long-term goals as well, but when looking at day-to-day accomplishments it is a lot easier to see and feel achievements when you have short-term goals to reach for as well as long-term ones.
Have you mentally prepared yourself for the day? Take a few minutes before you jump into your work making certain you are in the right frame of mind. Review the fundamentals, the basic things that are going to get you where you want to go. Remind yourself that you will get some rejections, but that rejections aren’t necessarily a bad thing – they simply tell you to focus your energy elsewhere.
2) Trust – Who and what are you trusting in to accomplish your goals? Do you and/or your team truly have the abilities needed to take on the challenges of the day? If not, what needs to change in order to get you ready to meet those challenges? What changes can you personally make to meet this goal? And if you and/or your team do have the necessary abilities, are you confident enough to move forward? If you haven’t told your team that you have confidence in their talent, now would be an excellent time to do so. Tell it to yourself, too – all of us can use a little reassurance now and then. Remember past successes if you need to justify your confidence.
3) Attitude – How are you feeling? Your mood affects all aspects of your job performance, so mentally check in with yourself before you start your day. If you are upset or frustrated, take a few deep breaths to try and calm yourself down before you get to work. If you’re happy, try to fix that feeling in your mind and remember it even if you run into some road blocks later in the day.
Equally important is your attitude about work. Do you feel good about yourself and the work that you are doing? If not, what can you do to change that? You may not be able to change everything you don’t like right away, so try to find some things to focus on that you can be proud of. Do the best work you possibly can, regardless of how trying your circumstances may be, and let that inform your attitude. Whether it is a difficult boss or a tough season at work, you can at least feel good about yourself if you focus on doing your best work, whether anyone else acknowledges it or not.
The good news is, at the end of the day you are the only one who is truly in control of your attitude. It may not always seem like it, but others can affect you only as much as you let them.
Review these three points at the beginning and end of each day. You may even want to make notes on them for a period of time and then look back and see if you can find patterns. Are you always frustrated in the morning? Maybe you need to change your routine. Feel like you aren’t accomplishing anything? You might need to set shorter-term goals. It’s a great way to get personal feedback about your performance.
Have a great weekend,
Ro