MAWMonday Motivators 04/19/2015

by: Dr. Michael A. Wright In Blog, Coaching DiaryTagged , , , ,

mastering-timeSo much to do, and so little time. But, my message for you today concerns the reality of time, your practices, and your vision for your future. Expand your view. Realize how much time you have behind you. Think of all the things you did not know back then. Focus on the successes you have experienced. Find encouragement in the failures you have stepped over and learned from. Outline the habits that you have understood as rituals to your productivity. Deny fear any hold on your future. You have come farther than even you predicted. Now, apply your wisdom to the next 5 minutes…the next 5 hours…the next 5 days…the next 5 months. That is a lot of time. Make magic happen.

1. Create an Excellence habit.
Repetition is the key. It is also the cycle of procrastination and other non-productive outcomes. Rather than focusing on changing your procrastination, I only ask that you break the repetition. Rather than putting it off again, I challenge you to engage with productivity for 5 minutes–just long enough to break the repeat loop. After a couple of hours, break the cycle again. Engage another 5 minutes of productivity. Continue with this habit. You will find balance. What was once procrastination becomes rest. What was once a 5 minute break builds toward a habit of product completion.

2. Work together.
Maybe the most important and simultaneously most difficult opportunity is teamwork. Important because you can do more, even overcome your deficits by participating in a high-functioning team. Difficult because of your misgivings about being on a team. For me, the barriers were in what I was taught as a child. “Do your own work. Don’t copy. Be original. Be independent.” It took me a long time to learn the truth, but even longer to reorder and engage others. The challenge is that all the quotes are true, but only partially so. Do your own work–as part of the team being responsible for the portion you have competence in. Don’t copy–and represent as your own, but integrate and build upon prior work giving appropriate credit. Be original–by placing your work in the context of prior work highlighting the progressive nature of your contribution. Be independent–and self-motivated such that you energize the team and contribute fresh and unique-to-you ideas for the collaboration.

3. Open yourself.
The challenge to being open is the challenge of being vulnerable. It is admitting that you don’t know what you should know. Many have no trouble stating that they are imperfect and don’t know everything. Few are willing to admit that they don’t know what they are expected to know. The solution is to open yourself to learning–about your task, about yourself, about others. Be ready to find that your tasks have inefficiencies. Be ready to learn that you have flaws and fears. Be ready to realize that some others do not offer sustainable relationships. Above all, in those moments of openness, be ready to change and grow.

4. Fail AND Try Again.
Failure is a great fear that curiously causes some to refuse to try. Yet, most of us admire the perseverance of a person who keeps coming back in the face of failure and disappointment. And, it only takes one success to cover a multitude of failures. Think about it. How many of us remember the failures in more than just learning terms? Funny how that works. Laugh. Learn. Try again.

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5. Only Fear mediocrity.
I share the fear of many entrepreneurs, mothers, and ordinary people. I fear a tombstone that only lists my name and the dates I lived. I fear an existence that, when extinguished, fades without remembrance or legacy. I fear living a mediocre life. Overcoming this fear begins close to your chest. Excellence, impact, and legacy are first established in YOU. It is your daily activity, your use of time, your intentional action that ensures your legacy. From your chest, it extends to your reach. It is evident in those you touch and inspire. Then, it gets interesting. Your reach multiplies exponentially as those that you touch reach to touch others. Your job is to continue to communicate, motivate, honor, learn, and reach intentionally.

Dr. Michael A. Wright received his Doctor of Philosophy in Social Work degree from the University of South Carolina - Columbia. Since 1997, Wright has led MAWMedia Group, LLC, a firm helping individuals and organizations tell stories and translate ideas into capital.