The Correct Way to Measure Greatness

“Be better today than you were yesterday, and be better tomorrow than you are today.” 

Lorenzo Snow

How do you define personal greatness?  To be great in your eyes does it require that you achieve some great accomplishment, earn a certain dollar amount, or receive a certain recognition or position?  Too many of us define greatness by comparing ourselves against others.  And though I’m not opposed to comparisons and competition, I think basing our feelings, thoughts, and even often our self-esteem in measuring our personal greatness to others is unfruitful, unwise, and unhealthy. 

To me personal greatness is doing our very best every day and helping others to do the same.  Each of us has different limitations, skills, and talents.  Each of us has unique experiences, education, and backgrounds.  Regardless of all of our many differences, I believe each of us has an opportunity to be great every single day.  When we truly strive to do our personal best every day, we will be able to accomplish things beyond anyone’s imagination—including our own. 

Notice also that personal greatness as I define it requires us to help others.  This is contrary to our competitive, often cut throat society though I believe when we truly help others be great, we become greater ourselves.  Again we can be great every single day by helping and encouraging others to do their personal best. 

So rather than determine our personal greatness on accolades, awards, or recognition from others we should base it on our personal effort.  Are we doing our personal best today?  Are we helping others to do the same?  When we can honestly answer yes to these questions we are achieving personal greatness—and we can make this happen every single day.  Being personally great every single day should be a lifelong pursuit for us all.  Here’s to being GREAT!      

What Have I Given Up Lately?: A Simple thought to Measure Sacrifice and Commitment

Hopefully all of us have dreams and goals in life that are aligned with what matters most to us.  One way I’ve found to measure my commitment and drive to achieve my dreams is to ask myself “what have I given up lately?”  

Sacrificing something we care about, or like, or want for something that is even more important is one of the ultimate confirmations that we are serious about our dreams.  As I reflect on my commitment level to those things I care about most, I can see times in my life when I’ve given up things I liked to better achieve my goals.  And though the sacrifice was hard and even sometimes painful at the time, the decision to let go of a few things in order to obtain what I wanted most was always worth it. 

Truly successful people know what they want and are willing to make sacrifices for it.  Those who can’t let go, struggle to make the real progress they hope to in reaching their goals and desires.  As we analyze our commitment to our dreams, we should ask ourselves frequently, “what have I given up lately?” in order to measure our commitment.  As we make sacrifices today, we will in time receive the benefits from doing so as we achieve our wildest dreams.      

The Strangest Secret

“The way we think directly affects the results we get in life; our thoughts lead to actions which determine our success.”  Unknown

Ernest Nightingale became famous for his book The Strangest Secret which secret is that “we become what we think about.”  Managing our thoughts is difficult and too often I find myself with less than admirable, helpful, and positive thoughts.  Learning to master our thoughts can pay big dividends in our life and help us live a more successful and happier one.  Below are some ideas on how to manage our thoughts. 

#1 Think Stop

When you notice your thoughts are less than ideal, tell yourself to “stop”.  Commanding yourself to stop will interrupt your thought and will allow you to take control.  Remember you are the master of your thoughts so when they are poor command that they stop. 

#2 Lists are good

Have a list of positive thoughts, thoughts you’d like to have and write them down.  Refer to the list often and look at the list whenever you are in need of some positive thoughts. 

#3 Change Activities

When negatives thoughts are plaguing your mind, change what you are doing.  If you are reading a book and your mind is running wild, perhaps go do some chores around the home, call a friend, or go for a run.  If you are working at your desk and your thoughts are less than ideal perhaps move to the couch or take a break.  Changing up what you are doing can help distract your mind and help it “reboot” and focus on something else.  Also, pay attention to those activities that seem to lead you to poor thoughts more often than others and then avoid doing those things whenever possible.

#4 Write it down

Sometimes thoughts are stuck and remain that way until we get them out.  Many have found it to be helpful to write down their negative thoughts on paper and then throw them away.  This exercise at times can free your mind and get rid of nasty thoughts. 

#5  Watch your Feelings

At times we may not even realize our thoughts are poor.  By paying attention to our feelings and emotions we can often identify the kinds of thoughts we are having.  Our thoughts often create and control our feelings and emotions therefore if we are feeling sad or angry or apathetic, it is an indication our thoughts have been less than ideal and that we need to change them.

Using the ideas above we can become better at mastering our thoughts.  Though not easy, the effort we exert in managing our thoughts will pay off.  Having better thought now will help us become better people and better leaders and ultimately allow us to gain better results and satisfaction in life.