Have you given up on 2009? Have you stopped making decisions, decided to coast the next 90 days, and written off Q4 before it's over? Are you anticipating that 2010 will be the panacea to 2009, giving you an excuse to just wait to take action until the New Year?
Wait a minute. We still have 25% of the year to go. In addition to that, we have some newfound momentum on our side. The recession both domestically and globally appears to have hit bottom, allowing us to begin moving up once again. The Dow Jones has increased 3,500 points since March, real estate transactions are up, interest rates are down, and the job market is beginning to show improvement as well.
However, the pace at which the economy improves is largely beyond our control. We can't affect the recession, move the market, or change the job index. What is within our control is the ability to stay engaged in our lives and in the lives of others.
I think we know that 2010 will be a year of growth and recovery. However, all we truly have is the present. What is within our control is the power to strive to make 2009 our best year yet.
Energize your next 90 days
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The best thing we can gain coming out of this downturn, is to know exactly what our competitive advantage is - both personally and professionally.
Lisa Dugan
Concentrate on where you want to go, not on what you fear.
Anthony Robbins
Comedy is tragedy plus time.
Carol Burnett
True giving is not an economic exchange. It is a generative act. It does not subtract from what we have. It multiples the effect we can have on the world.
Zainab Salbi
Quotes
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To help you energize your next 90 days both personally and professionally, I'd like to share the following ideas:
- Be a "doer" in your world. Doers take action and move things forward. But have you delayed making some key decisions? Doing so will drain your energy and keep you unsettled and unfocused. Yet making decisions, once you have the facts, clears your mind and builds confidence. To be effective in capturing the upswing, avoid delaying decisions and action. Don't hold the present and future hostage, based on the worry of what didn't happen in the past. Angst, delay, and endless discussions are the real enemies of success and happiness. So initiate, plant those seeds, raise your hand. Leave every conversation and situation better. Key in on the right relationships and spend time with people who make your world bigger.
- Create a strategic type of optimism. We naturally gravitate toward optimism because it promises a better future and keeps us from getting stuck in the past. I'm not referring to blind, emotionally naïve optimism that is not grounded in facts. Instead, strategic optimism is informed with data and grounded in clarity. Strategic optimism creates a future bigger than the past.
- Don't be a commodity. Look for smart ways to differentiate yourself and meaningful ways to know yourself better. Think like an entrepreneur, whether you own the company or not. Take ownership of your life, development, and career. Mentor someone and help him or her develop. Look outside your world, and be of service to others.
- Stop living for retirement; keep enjoying your work. For some, retirement is the single biggest event that they are working toward. They sleepwalk through their working lives, in effect, waiting for the day when they wake up in the morning and no longer have anything valuable to offer in the marketplace. So fall in love with your job again. Ask for more responsibility. Take items off your boss's plate when you can. All we have is the present. If we fail to engage in the present, we live life as a dress rehearsal rather than as the performance it truly is. Consider lifelong growth as the only way to live your life. If you are having difficulty engaging in your present work, consider whether you are truly playing to your strengths.
- Know exactly what your strengths are. Strengths energize you today and power you into the future. If you don't know your strengths, purchase either StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath or Now, Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham. Take either of the strengths assessments that are provided in both of the books to discover your top five strengths. Knowing your unique individual abilities and persisting in developing them will give you confidence, clarity, and a terrific understanding of where you can excel in your work and your life.
I welcome your feedback. Please e-mail me at Sbixler@bixlerconsulting.com.
Keep working on making 2009 your best year ever!
