A story - I was hiking in the Phoenix Mountain Preserve. It's very rugged with lots of trails. Two young women approached me and asked how to get back to where they had started. They were headed in exactly the wrong direction. I walked with them until I was sure they were on the right path. I suggested the next time they go hiking, they should turn around from time to time and look where they had come from - and pick out landmarks and trails. Doing that helps assure you won't get lost. In addition to a map, it's the best way I know to stay on course when you're in new territory.
Here's the Success Tool I call Looking Back. After the first week in any change you are going through, record your impressions, judgments and perceptions. It doesn't have to be neat - the only person who has to understand what was recorded is you. Put it away - and after a month, take it out and review it. And then record where you are after your first month, and put that away. Do this monthly for six months. When you go back and review your recordings, be prepared to be amazed at how far you've come and how much you've accomplished! See how much greater your understanding of people, processes and problems has become. See how much closer you have come to meeting and exceeding expectations - your own and others.
What does this Tool do? It's both a compass and a motivator. It helps you to celebrate the small successes that, added together, turn into big successes - and nothing motivates like success! It helps you know just how far you've come. It helps if course corrections are needed - if the successes aren't there - or if they don't meet your expectations.
In the rush to accomplish and solve and process and deal with the everydays, our individual accomplishments often go unnoticed and unrecognized. It's easy to forget what has led you to where you are now. Use this Tool to look back from time to time and gain the energy to go forward by seeing just how far you have already come.
Start today - write it down - make it one of your habits - never get lost again.
Written by Andy Cox, President
Cox Consulting Group LLC, 4049 E Vista Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph: 602-795-4100; Fax: 602-795-4800; E Mail: acox@coxconsultgroup.com; Webiste; www.coxconsultgroup.com
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