Alan Weiss's Resolutions for a Better Life and Work Balance
– Stop whining. Fix it, move it, ignore it, or destroy it, but whatever it is, stop whining. You’re stressing yourself and you’re annoying everyone else.
– Learn your language. It’s embarrassing to hear the malapropisms. Your friends are too embarrassed to tell you, and your adversaries snicker. If you’re not sure of a construction, get help.
– Perform a life inventory. Where are you today compared to where you’d like to be? What’s the stretch you need to get to the next milepost? How will you attain it? It won’t occur magically by itself. (You’re already where you want to be? Then stop whining.)
– Never allow your computer to tell you that email has been received so that you stop what you’re doing and respond to it.
– Never interrupt a conversation to answer your cell phone.
– Don’t look around a room while you’re talking to someone trying to determine if there is someone else you should be talking to.
– Listen to people who are talking to you. You may not be as smart as you think you are. One person alone, to whom I raptly listened for one minute, gave me an idea that immediately generated nearly $100,000 just the first time I applied it.
– If you can’t say something nice, say it anyway. Brutal honesty is more supportive than disingenuous praise.
– Create a "payment plan" for yourself. Put something away every month, as if you were paying a bill. If you obtain an unusually large piece of business, then give yourself a "bonus" payment.
– Reduce indebtedness so that on December 31 it is 50% or less of what it was on January 1.
– Don’t talk with your mouth full. Nothing is that important, and we can all wait another 20 seconds.
– Say thank you and you’re welcome every time they are appropriate. Err on the side of saying them too much.
– Don’t play one-ups-man-ship. Let the other person shine. Otherwise, you just come across as needy.
– Always leave them wanting more….
Balancing Act® is a monthly electronic newsletter discussing the blending of life, work, and relationships, based on the popular Balancing Act workshops and writing of Alan Weiss, Ph.D. Contact them for further information at: balancingact@summitconsulting.com.
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