It’s time to make the critical shift from leading the business by yourself to leading an organization of people. At P2Excellence, we help you navigate the uncharted territories of organizational growth with clarity and confidence.
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about our efforts to Bring Our Best Selves to whatever we do. I heard back from several of you, commenting on the importance of being present. By that you meant knowing what qualifies as “best self” for you and what unique skills, abilities and insight you specifically bring out best.
You have reminded me again about the importance of pausing. The world is clamoring for us to not only multitask (as in doing two or more things simultaneously) but to spin like a top to see how many projects or activities we can touch in one day. The problem and we all know it, is when we run that hard, we barely bring our basic selves to our work, let alone our best self. Surely, in these times, are we even capable of bringing our very best self to our work?
So, how do we change that? I believe assessing our current state is a place to begin. Look within. Go take a walk or sit in a peaceful place – preferably outside. Breathe. And ask yourself – in what places do I most miss not doing my best? And what am “I” going to do about it? How can I self-care myself into upping my involvement in what matters the most?
Start small. Build new muscle. Try again. Learn and adjust. Get over yourself! And try again.
Some things to consider:
- BARRIERS THAT GET IN THE WAY
Think of what barriers block your potential to be your best self at work. What gets in the way of creative thinking or finishing an assignment on time? Are you the barrier (i.e., setting out-of-bound expectations of yourself) or are others preventing you from achieving that best-self balance (e.g., noisy work environment, vague plans and directions, etc.)? - REGROUP AND REALIGN
One way to help you bring your best self into daily focus is to establish a routine that enables you to re-familiarize yourself with your ‘best self’ each day. Whether it’s through meditation, visualization, contemplative prayer, or writing down a checklist, anything that helps you re-instill that sense of purpose and self-worth will help you refocus on your best self. Allowing you to become more energized and bring to the forefront those skills and strengths that distinguish you from others. - BE POSITIVE
Being your best self requires being positive. If you are being honest, would you say you are ‘often’ positive in your outlook? Or has negativity taken over too much of your day? Some say we are the sum total of the five people closest to us. At work, find ways to work and collaborate with positive people. Their optimistic outlook on work and life will rub off on you. If your job doesn’t offer enough flexibility for you to choose who you work with, you can still spend time with positive people by networking with them over lunch or coffee breaks.
Please let us know what you think about bringing your ‘best self’ to work. Is it a challenge? Is it a discipline? What works best for your ‘best self’? We’d love to hear from you!
