Decision making is a critical matter. Often, we delay or procrastinate our decisions.
Why?
We keep on prodding, probing, collecting knowledge and information but still can not make up our mind to take that ‘important decision’…
Actually, it is not that we don’t have the ability to take the decision but it is our ‘fear’ to take the wrong decision that prevents us from taking any decision. We want our every decision to be ‘right decision’.
In our life, we take few critical decisions. And each decision that we have taken so far is the ‘right’ decision considering the situation, circumstances and our understanding at that point of time. It is only in the hindsight that we ‘judge’ whether that particular decision was ‘right’ or ‘wrong’.
Decision making is important and time critical. Don’t let the ‘fear’ of taking ‘wrong’ decision hamper your decision-making ability.
Having a sense of gratitude. Always try to see what is good/beautiful around you.
Helping others joyfully.
And lastly, Learn to let GO!
The Lady In Number 6 is one of the most inspirational and uplifting stories about 109 year old, Alice Herz Sommer, the world’s oldest pianist and Holocaust survivor who shares her story on how to achieve a long and happy life. She discussed the importance of music, laughter and how to have an optimistic outlook on life. I believe she passed away at the age of 110.
Occasional Fall will help you climb altitudes! Illustration credit : Pixabay
Have you ever wondered whenever a crisis happened in your life, ultimately it resulted in something better for you! Many a times, a crisis is better for us either in our personal or professional life. It is actually a boon in disguise!
Why is it so?
When everything is going on fine in our life it generates a sense of complacency in us. We start taking things for granted. And this leads to our slacking down or not putting in our best efforts. This may be applicable to our job/profession, our relationships, our business and even to our health. We are happy the way things are going. We don’t want to take any risk or put in more efforts for our own development and growth. This is what we call to live in the comfort zone!
So, what happens when a crisis hits you? You come into an alert mode and start working on improving things around you. This is a reactive approach. The best example of this is when you get your medical check up done and receive your report!
So, does one need to be in an alert mode all the time?
Not really.
The best way to manage would be to keep taking stock of things…regularly.
If we keep asking these questions periodically then it would definitely help- How am I doing? What needs to be done more? What needs to be added /deleted to/from my life? Is there scope for improving things? Am I leading a healthy life?…. and likewise. When doing so, chances of crisis hitting you would be at the minimum.
Does this thought often bother you? Are you the one who spends a lot of time thinking on “What if….” before starting anything new? Do you often think of the negative aspects even if there are no valid reasons to do so?
You will notice that all your ‘What if…” have one common element- the fear factor!
The ‘fear of the unknown’.
What is Fear of Unknown?
Most of this fear is based out of your assumptions and not on facts. You need to make yourself free from this ‘unknown fear’. Unless and until you do that, it will be difficult for you to accomplish anything important in your life- both at personal and at professional level.
How does one achieve that state of mind? I will share something from my own life. I too had many fears in my mind as I was growing up. Moving from adolescence state to a young man and then to crossing my midlife, I was continuously faced with so many fears that many times I wondered if at all will I be leading a free and happy life devoid of all my fears? Then as I gained experience in life, I slowly started taking risks; risks of giving an attempt to all the things/activities that I had some kind of fear attached to. And I was pleasantly surprised to find that most of the fears that I associated with these things/activities were mere fears only!
In practical life, they (the fears) just don’t exist!
What is the solution?
Here is the Key; to begin with, attempt very small or not very significant fears of yours and keep repeating the action (your attempt) accumulating the small victories. After a point, you will have the confidence and the mental strength to attack your bigger fears. And slowly you will achieve bigger victories. You will be ready to take calculated risks in your life and will make significant progress.
And you know what? The biggest lesson for me in all this was:
People give a damn about you!
So, the biggest worry that we have in our mind ‘what will people say’ is so irrelevant and exasperating.
And remember: On the other side of your FEAR…. lies your SUCCESS!
The transition from being a team member into a manager is not always easy for an employee. How to fit into the new role? What qualities do the team member require to be a successful manager. Many organizations spend huge amount of time and money to study what makes a successful manager. And as the finding shows, below are some of the key traits that the managers should follow to become a successful manager: –
Don’t do micromanagement- Be more concerned about the end result rather than anything else.
Good communication skills- Communications is the key and that includes active LISTENING!
Need to have technical knowledge too- No more general management will do! You need to excel in the technical aspect of the domain that you are managing
Have vision for the team- As a manager you are responsible to take your team to the next level.
Show empathy towards team members- Be patient and understanding! Remember you are not working with robots but with humans who have emotions. Often our managers forget this very fundamental principal.
Ensure development and career advancement for the team members- Everyone looks for growth and development. Ensure, as a manager you discuss their career path in the organization.
And lastly, very important, you need to be the coach for your team. As a coach, you need to utilize their full potential, identify untapped potential, make time bound goals, give continuous feedback and ensure they are progressing.
Am I moving in the right direction? Pic Credit: Pixbay
Moving slower in the right direction is far better than moving faster in the wrong direction!
Most productivity gurus insist on ‘how quick’ rather than on ‘how efficient’. A slight tilt in the wrong direction will have drastic results over the period of time.
Many of us believe that being busy is being productive which is absolutely wrong in the first place. Being busy with a purpose and a goal in mind is actually what it should be to achieve success.
Have you heard of the herd mentality? It is when everyone follows what someone else is doing! Whether it suits them or not, whether it will do any good to them or not, or least, whether it is required for them, people blindly copy because everyone seems to be doing or following the same. Do you believe this will give them beneficial results? Absolutely NOT!
Always, try to find your own path. Carve your unique niche. Take your time to build that pace, but be consistent in your efforts. Don’t just rush without applying your mind. Small gains each day will have a compounding effect over a period of time. So, ensure that you are progressing in the right direction and that your progress is steady.
“Don’t confuse motion with progress. A lot of people are just like spinning in circles really, really fast. They’re not going anywhere.” — Polina Marinova
