Zig Zigler put it so well when he said, “Help enough people get what they want, and you will truly get what you want”. However, there is one important caveat which is often overlooked with this philosophy of life, and it’s this. You are the most important person in your World and you need to make sure you are getting what you want from your World.
What do I mean by this? Surely your children, spouse, partner etc are more important than me? Are you saying Dave that you are more important than your wife, daughter, granddaughter, and your clients? Yes, I am and here is why. If I want to be the best husband, father, grandfather business person I can be, then I have to be the best me I can be so I can then give of my best to the people I care about and whom I love dearly.
This is a part of giving people often overlook. How many times have you felt tired, irritable, unfit, rundown, or bemoaned that you haven’t seen your family or taken part in your own favourite hobby or pastime for ages. It so important that you look after yourself physically and mentally so you can give of your best to others whether that’s family, friends, clients or other people in your professional network. When we are tired or rundown life can become a chore and the things that we love doing can be a bind and the quality of our decision making is affected.
Here are some of my favourite things we can do to prevent this from happening:
1. Think about the things that give you the most joy in your life and diarise them like you would your best client. Think of a client that you would never cancel on then treat that time like you would if you were meeting that client. In reality you are doing this as you will always be your best client anyway.
2. Give time and energy to your mind and body. Meditation is an awesome way to achieve this and could consist of ten minutes quiet time a couple of times a day. Sitting in your garden away from your desk or going for a walk are also great ways to refresh.
3. Stay hydrated as this keeps you alert and awake and able to make better decisions.
4. Sleep. Yes, sleep seven hours a night is good.
5. Say “No” more often. It’s great that we want to help people however if we say yes to too many things for other people, we run out of time to do things for ourselves.
These are just a few suggestions to help you take care of yourself so you can get what you want from life and be able to give of your best to others.
Don’t be afraid to look after yourself and your needs so you can thrive and not just survive.
Until Next Time
Dave