Work harder on yourself than you do on your job
Posted by Ben Lumley on Jul 14, 2010 in Beliefs, Creating Change, Overcoming Challenges, Thinking Differently | 6 comments
photo credit: The Welsh Poppy
Work harder on yourself than you do on your job ~ Jim Rohn
So I’m sat here after what feels like a really unpleasant few weeks. Nothing particularly bad has happened, just lots of little things building up and gaining momentum that have made me feel like I’m dragging a weight behind me that I can’t shake. Coupled to that has been the feeling that something wasn’t right, like I was a bit lost and I could quite figure out why. Then the penny dropped. I’d stopped working on me. And instantly the weight and feeling was gone.
For the past few weeks work has been crazy and anyone seeing my twitter feed may have noticed that I haven’t been around much. I’ve been flat out with things at work and that has left me little time for anything else. Without realising it, I had stopped doing some key rituals that have always kept me feeling fighting fit and ready to do my thing. Those were…
- Reading something related to my personal development every day
- Writing in my success journal
- Being grateful for what I have in life (I wasn’t being ungrateful I just wasn’t taking time to notice.)
- Spinning the positive aspect on situations and experience
In essence I’d stopped working harder on myself than I did on my job and it took a proverbial “smack round the head” by the master himself to wake me up.
You see if you want to take the world by storm, change a part of you or your life, or generally keep up your “god-like” status, then you simply have to work on yourself more than you do anything else. Now that might be taken in the wrong way by some but let me try and clarify it.
Working for “the man”
Lots of people go to work everyday for “the man” and put in the hours. A handful of people are in a position to work in a j-o-b that they love but will still have to put the hours in when necessary. What nearly all of us do is short change ourselves and stop trying to improve our minds, bodies or spirits because work gets in the way. I’m sure that many of you reading this are already thinking about leaving a comment that may include the line “it’s ok Ben we all have times like this” which is cool and everything but a part of me is starting to wonder why.
Why is it ok to slack off your personal development in times like these? As the great Zig Ziglar once said…
People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily
Do you stopping bathing just cos you’re really busy with the rest of work and life? Does brushing your teeth cease because there just aren’t enough hours in the day? Not likely. So personal development doesn’t need to either.
I firmly believe that personal development works and improves the lives of millions of people around the globe. It can help anyone who wants it enough to grow and develop in any way they choose. It’s all about the choices we have in life and whether we want to make them or not.
What are you working on?
So after having this wake up call and writing this in haste, I’m now off to get some reading in and a bit of world domination planning. But what I want you to think about as I sign off are some of these questions…
- What are you working harder on at the minute more than you do your job?
- What could you do more?
- What change haven’t your made yet?
- What do you need to learn to move forward?
- Who can help you?
Remember everyone I’m now available for 1 to 1 coaching. Just drop me a message, tell me how some coaching with me could help and we can set up some time to help you move closer to that success you want.
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- Awareness of self and others is at the heart of better communication, personal development and effectiveness
- Doing something because you think you should, isn’t the way to go
- Refuel Inspiration to Charge your Passion
Ben Lumley writes about Success and Personal Achievement at 6aliens.com. He is a Personal Achievement Coach and Motivational Speaker.
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I love this Ben
It’s honest and raw and very compelling. And even though I’m one of the people who is doing a job she loves, I’m still very guilty of neglecting me. Fitness is the thing that always takes second place to work and it really, really shouldn’t. Consider bottom duly kicked and have a fabulous day 
El x
Thanks El
Putting in a little bit of time for you to work on you is definitely worthwhile.
Ben,
I really like the concept, especially of having a sucess journal. I carry around a Molskine like it’s part of my body, but I see how it’s important to have a specific one just for working on yourself.
Once you work on YOU, everything around you will also fall into place, just by the attitude and succcess that you attract to the work that you are doing.
-Joshua Black
The Underdog Millionaire
Got to love a Moleskine!
Another one of Jim’s quotes that right works for me is “Success is something you attract by becoming an attractive person”
Working on yourself is what makes you an attractive person.
I love that Jim Rohn quote too: “success is something you attract by becoming an attractive person.” And I love the way you capture that so personally and so beautifully in this post.
As a coach, I have learned that I am only as good as the “shape” I’m in. I don’t just mean in a physical sense – although health and fitness are vital components (if you’re not firing on all cylinders there, you can’t possibly put across a healthy energy to clients) – but in a personal, psychological sense too.
What I think you put across here so well is that it’s easy to imagine that all the people at the top of their game do all the self-care stuff effortlessly, when in fact that’s not the case. At least, it’s not my experience. It’s a game of self-mastery. One that you sometimes lose. Losing of itself is not the challenge. It’s what you then decide to do about it.
Reading this in my RSS feed yesterday morning, Ben, really made my day. You’re such an inspiration!
You’re completely right Christine, it is a game of self-mastery. As with successful teams and athletes, what makes the difference is their determination to win and the understanding that the loses are wonderful opportunities to grow and development.