Playing a Bigger Game: Looking in a Mirror
As the new year begins, we are coming to a close on our theme of playing a bigger game. Let us round off this segment by looking more your actions and achievements and taking a look at what lies underneath.
We begin this last step in your journey to playing a bigger game by reflecting on your motivations and thoughts. What will we notice about you, that is uniquely your attributes? What is your potential as a dynamic individual?
Taking a look at your motivations
Motivation is the difference between those who dream and those who make dreams happen. When you take a look at your motives, what is motivating you in your professional life? It is ultimately about having that all-encompassing WHY that gets you out of bed in the morning.
Do you have a reason to wake up and charge a new day? Some are motivated by external sources, such as recognition by their company or their peers. Others thrive on internal motivators, such as accomplishments and growth. Which motivates you?
One of the most significant challenges and struggles you may experience is the balance of your motivations. When you go out there and fight for a particular area of your life, is it growing at the expense of another area of your life? If growth in your career is causing your family life to deteriorate, you may want to re-evaluate what’s important to you. Have you considered why certain aspects of your life may be imbalanced?
Where do your ideas and thoughts take you? Having a game plan of getting bigger and better every day requires you to have a growth-oriented mindset instead of a goal-oriented mindset. In the area of idea generation, are your ideas SMART?
Ideas can come and go, but with BusinessLife, we have found that an individual’s ability to execute their plans is what separates them. Motivations draw strength from dreams put into action. Every time you dream up great ideas but do not pursue them, you may ask yourself, why or why not? Great ideas do not automatically create great results, but they do give you the push to reign in the motivation to start.
Taking a look at your life outside the office
When you have a passion and a drive for your career or business, it is easy to neglect your life outside of the office. You can only run so hard and for so long in just one area of your life before the other parts of your life start being exposed.
With BusinessLife, we want to help you navigate your life with balance. Here are a few questions to consider:
What is motivating you in your personal life?
Do you have any connections or networks that help you stay balanced in the emotional and social aspects of your life? Are your relationships healthy, why or why not? Does your family have an essential place in your life? Even the most robotic of entrepreneurs and business owners have relationships and friendships that help them move mountains in the business world.
Do you enjoy how you spend your time and do others enjoy spending time with you?
Are you a pleasure to be around or do most people avoid your presence? As a leader, the burden of loneliness is plentiful, but as the human species have an intrinsic need to connect with others. Social relationships are vital.
What kind of energy do you bring to your relationships and interactions?
When you enter a room, are you a thermometer, or are you a thermostat? Do you control the vibe of the room? Can you raise the heat and cool interactions down merely by entering a room? Most entrepreneurs are amazing networkers, do you have what it takes or can you learn to be a great networker?
Are you accepting of changes?
In the digital age of business, the currency for success is change. Are you intentional about personal growth and self-development? Do you lean towards getting praises or flourish in accepting criticisms and change?
Are you resourceful in your life?
Resourcefulness is not a talent; it is a honed skill that can help you in your progression of your life and career. How would you rate yourself in the area of resourcefulness?
Taking a look at your life as a whole
Your associations are everything. They can take you to higher places in your growth, or they can bring you down to where you do not want to stay. When you are inspecting your associations, take a hard look at who you have attracted to your life, as well as who you are drawing to your life presently. The critical figures in your life play an essential role in putting you in a position of growth and success. Who are you partnering with that can help you perform at a higher level?
If you were to write down your five most recent acquaintances, who are they and what do they bring to the table? Thinking about these five acquaintances, list down how they are adding value to your life. Consider that the kind of talents and strengths they have can open up many new doors of opportunities for you.
Taking a look in the mirror
Playing a bigger game in your life is the navigation between Business and Life. It is in how you balance these two aspects. Keep in mind that when you thrive in one that you are not compromising the other. It is not the idea of separating business and life, but instead, understanding them as an integrated whole. Business and Life are two sides of the same coin; you cannot triumph in the end if you sacrifice your life for your company, or vice versa.
Are you separating your business aspirations and your life aspirations? Instead, meld them together in your pursuit of excellence. By noticing yourself, being aware of who you are and where your improvements and motivations lie to become the most excellent version of yourself, you can play a much bigger game in this New Year.
To learn more about playing a bigger game and open a conversation about where you are, contact us today.
