During a leadership meeting at Rackspace this week, Jo Dockery, one of the smartest Rackers, was presenting. She had a slide with a great quote:
I loved the quote. What made it special is that it puts the ball on your court. Stop complaining about external circumstances. It encourages you to stop blaming external factors. They are just excuses. Life is hard, deal with it.
You might have heard Have you hear a story about the guy who gets shot. As he is lying in the ambulance, he is smiling. The paramedics are puzzled as to why someone who has been shot might appear happy and ask him about it. He said “I have been shot, there is nothing I can do about it. I can choose to be happy or sad. I choose happy. ” You don’t control the circumstances but you control how you will deal with them.
The grass always seems greener o the other side. If feels like other people had it easy: They are lucky, they inherited money, are liked by the CEO, were at the right place at the right time, etc. – and you didn’t. Maybe that’s why you are not successful. I have thought about this myself, maybe even more than once. Let’s call bull. Life is hard, maybe even unfair. Work is hard. Everyone has problems.
Stop blaming the environment. Stop blaming others. Stop blaming your situation. You won’t change the world around you, You won’t change your boss. But you can change you. The ball is on your court. You can do something about you. You can change your attitude, your behavior and your skills.
The alternative is to sit tight, delay success, and wait, hoping things will improve and everything will be easier. It never happens. Life is now.
You just get better.
You become clearer on your goals. You figure out how to win. You acknowledge your limitations. You ask for help. You learn. You plan. You study. You spend time and effort to improve. You get more resilient. You work harder. You get smarter. You practice. You ask for help (yes, again). You keep trying. You keep getting better, and better, and better.
How are you getting better today?
“People say I am lucky. But a funny thing happens: the harder I work, the luckier I get” – unknown
Picture courtesy Brian Hindle via Flickr under Creative Commons – http://www.flickr.com/people/dryrot/