I do hope you made your list. And hey, what a fun week to have it, if you’ve got a Valentine (whether kid or spouse or parent or friend or yourself… you should be your own best Valentine), this would be a great time to do something fun off of your list of things you love and would like to do more of that we talked about last week.
By the way, just to talk shop for a second, as I stated at the tail in of last week’s Monday Morning Huddle, you should have a list of things for your patients, but also your team… things you want to do together related to training topics, priorities, and personal development for the year, this quarter, or however you want to play it out.
Everything we talk about applies to each and every part of your life. Which brings me to one of my favorites.
In addition to having ‘fun’ things to look forward to – of course you do have to do some work – you have to accomplish things every single day whether that be wake up on time, eat healthy, do some exercise, focus on top priorities, perform at the Practice, emotionally engage with your patients, etc.
If you want to keep yourself motivated, happy, and moving forward with your life, then I encourage you to make it a game and have some rewards for yourself along the way.
Case in point, it’s why I had you make your list last week. Those hopefully are things that you can build into your life routines whether it’s reading a book every day or playing with your kids or doing something for yourself every week or having a friend’s day or date night monthly. Whatever it is, that list should be something you look forward to.
As I said, having something exciting to look forward to motivates you to do everything with a positive attitude.
Today, we are talking about rewarding yourself for going that extra mile, for starting something new, for finishing something you started, for getting stuff done. Basically, a reward for getting through the tunnel and out into the light.
It doesn’t matter to me whether it’s pay off a credit card, clean out the closet, make up with your spouse, go an entire week with no negative talking, it might be a work out goal or a healthy eating goal, or it might be to be on time and prepared for the morning huddle every day.
Here’s the thing, we are all human. Of course, you want to do a great job, you don’t need to be bribed to do well. There is just something to be said about having a challenge for yourself that helps you reach the next level in your life and personal objectives. Having a reward throughout the process helps to keep you focused and motivated.
You have goals you said you wanted to achieve in 2020. Those new year resolutions are more than a month old now. It would be interesting (potentially disappointing) to see how many have stuck to it and followed through 40+ days into the year.
Here’s what matters though: you must have integrity with your words and commitments to yourself (and of course others); setting yourself up for success by aligning your habits, behaviors, and attitude with what you say you want to be your reality.
So, pick some goals, some quick wins, short term victories, and then pick some longer ones. Write them down and then choose a reward for yourself when you achieve them.
Dessert for a week of good eating. A new purse when you reach a savings goal. Whatever motivates you to stick with it.
It’s the same thing you might do (or have done) for your kids for good grades or behavior or chores. Why not do it for yourself also. Why not let yourself have some fun and rewards to look forward to.
It’s why I encourage you to have some bigger quarterly objectives in your practice or even monthly contests or team initiatives that could be around referrals or reviews or taking pictures or case starts or pick whatever is important to your growth priorities.
Reward and incentivize the actions that lead to the results that you want.
It’s human nature, don’t try to fight it, embrace it and use it to your advantage to achieve your goals and the life you want both in and out of your practice.
We’re moving on next week but we won’t ever move on from our focus on You because You are the most important part of everything we do. Remember, when you take care of yourself it makes you better at taking care of other people. Think about what you can do to help yourself follow through on what is necessary to win and do well in your practice with your patients and in your life with your family.
If you want to win and be at your best, insert rewards and remove excuses. If you swap these two out, you’ll be amazed at the magic it will generate.
