In the fifth part of this series on self-esteem, I would like to discuss "purposeful living." This is a topic that we repeatedly address in our seminars. At the beginning of a workshop, we often ask participants the question: "Who wants to lead a happy, contented, and successful life?"
Perhaps you are now thinking, as many participants do: Who wouldn't want that? That's right, everyone raises their hand when asked this question. The next question we ask is: "Do you also know what you need to do to be able to live such a life?" Then it always becomes very quiet in the room.
Many people have a clear idea of what their life should or ought to be like. But why does it remain just an idea for most of them?
Perhaps some of these statements sound familiar to you:
- I wish I had...
- I hope that someday I will...
- If this or that were different, then ...
- If I won the lottery, then ...
In my opinion, these are all excuses used to avoid having to leave one's comfort zone. Like the bird in a golden cage who dreams of being free. When the door is opened for him, he prefers to stay inside because he has security and full service in the overall package.
People think they can carry on as before. Change will come naturally if they just try hard enough. But deep down, they all know that this won't work.
Doing the same thing and expecting a different result is a definition of stupidity.
People who live purposefully are unfamiliar with statements such as "I hope," "I wish," etc. They ask themselves completely different questions:
- What is my goal?
- Why is it important for me to achieve this goal?
- What am I willing to do?
- What is my plan, my strategy for achieving this goal?
- What added value or benefit does the goal bring?
- What is my first step?
- When exactly will the goal be achieved?
What effect do these questions have on you? How often do you ask yourself such clear questions in order to achieve or implement something?
Questions like these help you to clearly define a goal. This way, your decisions are no longer just wishful thinking. Plans that are not tied to a concrete action plan will never be realized and remain daydreams or wishes.
What attitudes do your employees have toward goals? Does every employee know their goals? How do your employees talk about goals?"I'll do my best...,""I'll try...," "I'll work hard..."Or do they speak in clear, measurable terms of results?
What obstacles stand in the way of us living purposefully?
In order to complete a plan, I first have to overcome the hurdle of determination. How quickly can you make a decision? How often do you weigh up the pros and cons for hours, days, weeks, or even months? First, we want to have everything carefully considered and secured. That's a good thing. Of course, you shouldn't be reckless or fail to cover your bases. But do so in a healthy way! Otherwise, you'll end up paralyzed and unable to act. There is a method that can save you a lot of time. It's trivial, but not always so easy to implement: Do it or don't do it – either do it or leave it alone.
The second obstacle is steadfastness. Before you set out, you must first learn to stand firm. What do I mean by that? How quickly do you allow other people's opinions and views to dissuade you from your goal before you even get started? If you only have an idea that hasn't been thought through in detail and you're not 100 percent convinced yourself, sometimes even a little criticism is enough to make you waver. This is nothing new for salespeople: if a salesperson isn't deeply convinced of their product, it will be difficult to win over customers.
So if you haven't internalized your goal, the slightest gust of wind will blow it away into oblivion. You'll find a thousand reasons why you can't do it after all.
How do you manage to live purposefully?
In my opinion, the most important thing you need is self-discipline.
- Self-discipline is the ability to adjust our behavior so that we can complete tasks within a specific time frame. It requires the ability to forego immediate rewards in favor of a distant goal.
- You must be able to foresee the consequences for the future, think long-term, and plan accordingly. This means consciously taking responsibility your own goals and intentions.
- This also means constantly checking yourself to see whether what you are doing is leading to the goal.
I will leave it up to you to decide what influence living purposefully has on self-esteem. By now, you are well acquainted with the topic and can come up with your own answer.
If you are seriously interested in living a purposeful life, create a professional action plan. Would you like some ideas on how to do this? Then I recommend working with results-oriented tasks (ROT). You can learn more about this in our Leading Simple seminars. The Grundl Leadership Academy will be happy to support you in achieving your goals.
I wish you every success and enjoyment in implementing and achieving your next project.
