FOCUS ON THE NINETY
I’m a big advocate of striving for perfection and giving 110%. Even though we all fall short, that doesn’t give us a valid excuse to eliminate giving our best efforts. Even the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 13:11 (NIV) to “aim for perfection”.
Sometimes in our efforts to be successful in many things, we tend to focus more on the failures instead of the victories. There are pros and cons to this concept so I’m going to ramble a bit until we are inspired!
It is important to do self-assessments to not only maintain our current attributes but to promote growth and maturity in the areas that we struggle in. This is a good thing and a reasonable level of discipline is encouraged to help us to be successful in the areas where we are lacking. This discipline can be based from our personal goals, outside suggestions, team observations and comparisons with those we look to for examples of exemplary performance in the target areas. While chasing after this percentage (whatever it may be) of areas that we feel need improvement, it’s important to not let the previously successful percentage fall prey to idleness. We must maintain a posture of integrity in everything we do and not try to “fake it ‘til we make it”! If we’re doing 90% well and struggling at 10% then it is important to identify and address that 10% and set reasonable goals to conquer these mountains. As we reach certain rungs of the “success ladder” we will continuously realize that we could do more, and more, and more… so the bar never really seems to be permanently at 100%. Don’t be discouraged by this but welcome this challenge so life doesn’t get stale in our efforts to be the best we can possibly be. The real challenge here is to stay motivated, to take on the challenges and to not have a defeated attitude. A defeated attitude will result in an automatic loss for those keeping score.
With that same concept of trying to do our best and reach for that extra 10%, don’t lose focus on the 90% (or whatever our number is) that we are doing correctly. Sometimes I see people get so discouraged because they weren’t the best at something. Some people take constructive criticism way too hard and should instead embrace it as a challenge and respect that someone took the time to give them a good swift kick of reality…even if it wasn’t with the best disposition. If we ask someone their opinion, we should be prepared to get it whether we agree with it or not. Somewhere along the lines people just started lying to each other to avoid conflict… that’s not the way to go… and we shouldn’t want people to say stuff to us just to make us feel better. When we’ve realized that we’re falling short in an area (or a few areas), we should try to focus on them one at a time, set new goals and take steps to remedy our situations. In the midst of these challenges, we need to go ahead and leave all offenses at the door, put on our battle armor and don’t forget to remember the foundation (90%) of the things we are doing right to boost our confidence on our journey.
SET PERSONAL GOALS – We can’t always expect to live up to the standards of someone else. Start somewhere and set goals. As we progress we can begin to aspire to the standards of those we see as victorious in the areas of concern. Whatever we do… don’t give it all up because we failed in a few areas. Use our strengths as pillars to catapult our weaknesses into victorious pieces of art! YOU CAN DO IT!!!