In recent meetings Jim has mentioned that we all need to “elevate our game” a few points, also your theme for this year. This has gotten me thinking as to why we struggle with this. I believe I give everything I do 100%, as I am sure do all of you. I know I am wrong.
Think about a service department of a car dealership. They give you great service, they claim to give the best service. Then the owner’s daughter or son walks in. Are they getting the same service? Probably not. What changed? The technician does the same work, only difference now is that he believes that the owners kids have more value so he double and triple checks everything, he goes above and beyond. His circumstances have changed. His perception has changed.
Think about when you work out… are you doing your best? I would say you are not. You may be working out as hard as you think you are at the moment, but if you were running in the Olympics, would you have extra gas in your tank? What changed? Was it your how you viewed things? You went from being in the gym to the Olympics. What changed? Was it your mindset?
When I was going to CrossFit, often during the workout I thought I thought I was totally out of gas. Most folks had finished the workout and I was struggling through it. Next thing I know, the other members are around me cheering me on and giving me motivation. I was always able to find one more rep regardless of how I felt. My circumstances changed, my perception changed. I went from just doing the workout to suddenly having people that care about me in my corner. Failure was not even an option. I was going to finish the work no matter what.
Are you giving it your all? If not, change your perception, the way you view things.
“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” —Charles R. Swindoll
Have a great weekend.
—Vijay
About Friday Food for Thought (FFfT)
I frequently attend conferences and retreats on entrepreneurship and leadership and while I am away, the J2 team picks up the slack, allowing me to learn to be better at what I do. I wanted to share what I was learning with my team, so I created the weekly FFfT emails in November of 2015 and have been writing them ever since.
Before long, the J2 staff began sharing the FFfT emails with their friends and family and now other leaders have asked to be included, which led to the creation of this newsletter. I hope you enjoy!