Its real easy to give people advice on what to do. What about giving ourselves advice? We find other people who have all the faults in the world but we sometimes forget that we do pretty dumb things.
When thinking about 2016, I want to keep in mind that I am not the smartest person in the room and I can learn from every person I meet. Everyone has something to teach me.
Here are some things that I do that I want to improve in 2016.
Judge Other People
We all Judge others when we look at them. We must judge in order for not not to be overwhelmed. We take our past experiences and compare them to the present and automatically make assumption. It’s a natural thing that occurs in day to day life. For me the problem is not the day to do judging, its when I get a hint that I am wrong and I shouldn’t be generalizing other people and I ignore that hunch that I get that I am doing it. When I have that hint of awareness that there is more here than the eye sees and I don’t take that bait. When I do that it’s just dumb and I need to stop doing that in 2016. I will keep judging a book by its cover, title and table of contents but I will not judge the people I meet for the things that they have done and for the way they look. I will treat others with the respect I want them to treat me with and I will continue to grow as an individual.
Waste Time
Wasting time is relative. Some people think its a waste of time to work hard and others think it’s a waste of time to party. The way we invest our time can be looked at in the same way that we invest our money. We can either spend it or invest it. We all had those impulses to buy something we don’t need for people we don’t like with money we don’t have. We just buy it and don’t even eat it. We have big eyes sometimes. For me, it’s with time. I sometimes do things I know I should not be spending my time doing and I do it anyway. It’s not a good use of my time, I can have someone else do it. This year I will be smarter about my time and focus on my priorities and values to help me not waste time.
Chase Opportunity
Opportunity is amazing, it’s what drives people to make changes in their lives. The problem becomes when we start saying yes to things because we think, hey you never know. Its pretty dumb to throw away the opportunity you have with your current relationship for a maybe relationship or your current business for a maybe business that you didn’t even vett well. A real opportunity is when you weighed the risks against the rewards and you make a smart decision. Did you fully think that through or are you emotionally driving that decision because you are being impulsive? In 2016 I want to make my opportunity chasing about going deeper with what I already have and not look for new things that are shiny objects. Everytime you say Yes to something new you are saying No to something old.
Don’t Focus
Focusing on the wrong things is better than not focusing on anything. Focus is about being fully present with one thing at a time. Yes, we have thousands of external distractions each day and hundreds of thousands of internal distractions too. The key is to learn the art of focusing when it’s time to get something done to the end. Like this article would of never got written if I didnt focus on my goal of writing 2000 words a day. Technology and Social Media has taught me to be more distracted than ever before and in order for me to reclaim my focus I need to practice things like mindfulness and meditation. I took Facebook off my phone and that helped me focus too. Sometimes it’s the small things that make the biggest impact.
Start New Things Without Finishing The Old
Activation is one of my greatest strengths. I know how to get started. Taking a stale project and moving it forward or restarting something that most people think is dead is where I thrive. We all know that your greatest strength can also be your greatest weakness. I keep starting new things and I don’t finish the old things so I have hundreds of projects that don’t get finished. I pledge to stop doing that dumb activity in 2016 and I get people to help me finish the things that I start.
Am Not Precise Enough
Let’s tell someone to put the stuff in the Whatchamacallit. That’s not specific and it won’t get done. There are times that I know I am not being specific and I do that on purpose. Like during an interview, I like to ask open ended questions and see what people say. Limiting those questions to yes or no questions does not let shed light on the person’s creative personality. The problem is when I give people instructions. Or when I commit to a goal. You need to be super specific if you want it to get done. In 2016 I pledge to be more specific, to tell people what I want and when I want it and how I want it done.
Take Silly Risks
It’s important to take risks but taking risk for no reason is just plain dumb. If you are not in a rush don’t hurry, don’t take that risk just to get there faster because you are competitive. Sometimes it’s hard to differentiate the risks that are worth taking from the risks that are not worth taking. Its because we don’t take the time to properly calculate the risk or the fact that it’s a risk we are taking. The more we pause and ask myself, what is at risk here, the better we can decide and choose what risks are silly and what risks are worth taking.
Don’t Follow Up
Going to a an event, having an amazing meeting and not following up is such a waste. I took over 1000 selfies with hundreds of people last year and I followed up with many but I missed out on many opportunities too. There are times when it’s ok not to follow up, it’s not something you need to do with every person you meet, you have a limited amount of energy and you need to save it for the people the follow up that really does matter. Sometimes I miss a huge opportunity because I simply did not follow up and that is dumb. Getting in the habit of following up is the key. I pledge to be better at following up after I meet with someone, even if it’s just a thank you email.
Listen To My Negative Self Talk
When I see a video of myself, I hear myself on a podcast, or I see a photo of myself. I start making comments in my head that I would never make another people. They say to treat other people like you want yourself to be treated but we sometimes forget to treat ourselves with the positive light we tend to treat others with. This year I am going to listen to the negative self talk and I finally going to talk back. I am going to stop listening and start responding with so much positivity that it will drown my negative self talk with humor.
Don’t Practice What I Know.
The dumbest thing that I can possibly say is “I know that already” especially when I am not practicing that which I say I know. How many times did you go to a seminar looking for that “new idea” and realize that it’s the same old same old. You keep hearing those ideas that you already know but you are not doing them! This year I pledge to take the things I know I need to do to become a better human being and finally practice them!
Perfection is the enemy of greatness and you can’t be amazing if you try not to make any mistakes. The key is to learn from your mistakes and have progress every day. By analyzing the dumb things I do and learning from my mistakes I will make my dreams come true.
What are some dumb things that you do?
Feel free to let me know in the comments below.
