Last week, you made a list and did a little personal check-in. Hopefully you assessed your progress year-to-date to find out how you stack up with where you thought you\u2019d be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, onward and upward as we March forward and take action on your highest value priorities in order to continue making progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I remind you quite often that \u201cwhat you focus on you get more of\u201d and it\u2019s so true. Which is why I directed your attention back to the commitments you made at the start of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This week, we\u2019ll shift to another powerful statement that is \u201cinspect what you expect\u201d and that means the more you review something, the more likely it is to happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, you might jump to an example of someone who is supposed to do something (checking on your children\u2019s homework or a team member\u2019s task). But, there\u2019s one person we can\u2019t forget\u2026 YOU. Of course, the most important person to \u201cinspect what you expect\u201d is from yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s the hardest to take time to do but the easiest to have control over the outcome. Most people tend to look outward at all the other things not being done well or being critical of situations outside their responsibility. However, they forget to check in and see how they are doing themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s the good news: this should be a positive habit that you find rewarding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, to know what to inspect you first have to ask yourself what do you expect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019d hope top on the list is a positive attitude, feelings of gratitude, general happiness, and good energy. You could even have a board with emoji faces to rate your mood each night. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s important to expect yourself to remain calm and composed under pressure even when you might be running late or feeling stressed. If you are present and in the moment, you can take a breath and remind yourself it\u2019s all going to be okay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Far too many people let themselves become a domino of emotion and when something doesn\u2019t go well it tumbles into everything else, turning a small error into a larger catastrophe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This happens with stress too. It all compounds. And that\u2019s the worst thing to let happen. You are running late so you move faster then you get sloppy then you make mistakes then you get stressed again then you get frustrated which leads to more mistakes and on and on. Remind yourself, it\u2019s all going to be fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s the lesson: get clear on what you expect from yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You want to practice healthy living, do you expect that? If you do, you\u2019ll think twice about what you eat or when you eat it, about going for a walk instead of watching TV, or reading a book instead of scrolling facebook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You\u2019ve got to have success guidelines for yourself to help you win and improve. Start by setting more explicit expectations and then check on them routinely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The reality is most people don\u2019t underperform their own expectations \u2013 it\u2019s that their expectations were too low in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most people give themselves way too much room to be lazy, be unhappy, be slow, be less diligent than they know they should. They make it \u2018okay\u2019 to be mediocre because they don\u2019t want the pressure of having expectations that are too high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You want a better life \u2013 start by expecting more out of it \u2013 and therefore out of you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How can you raise the bar right now? In what ways can you expect more out of yourself? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And, conversely, in what areas might you be too hard on yourself? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Part of this setting expectations is knowing where you need to dial it up and where you should give yourself more room. Focus less on that which you can\u2019t control so you have more energy to focus on what you can control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prioritize yourself, define your expectations, and check-in on your progress \u2013 that\u2019s how you keep the momentum building all year long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019ve got big topics to tackle next week, including one of my favorites. Stay tuned.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"