Some of the best things happen to us when we least expect it. You’ve probably heard the story of 3M and post-it notes. At the time, they were trying to develop a super strong adhesive, but instead they created a very weak one by mistake. That weak adhesive that would stick just enough to stay in place became one of the most common office products in the world. What would have happened if they had been bound by their normal routine and just thrown it out as a failed experiment?
Every single day you have the opportunity to do something different than you did yesterday. You have the chance to learn something new, meet someone new, or experience something new, but how often do you take advantage of that opportunity? Whether you realize it or not, your success may be limited by your routine.
Do you find that you are getting caught up in what you know and what you do, rather than take the time to look at the opportunities around you? You have the opportunity every day to make a new friend, to help a stranger, or learn a skill you didn’t have before. But more often than not you are sticking with your routine and what you are comfortable with. Do you leave any room in your days for the unexpected to take you to a place of inspiration?
You will have opportunities every day to improve yourself and your bottom line. Imagine taking an hour every day to do something new, or to learn something new, or even to actively think about a problem. If you take this time you will open yourself to new opportunities, new people, and new directions for your personal and professional life. You will be able to visualize success in a different way.
Staying in your routine is very much like sitting on the couch in front of the TV. You don’t have the activity level to make changes in your life or business. So how do you move out of your routine? It takes practice and determination, but you can do it. Here are a few starting points to get you moving.
The first thing you need to do is identify what your normal routine really is. Don’t deceive yourself, you have a routine, and routines are a great way to get sustained success. But you are looking for ways to jumpstart your success, so before you can break from the routine, you need to know what it is. Identify a typical day, a typical week, and a typical month. Identify the tasks you do, the meetings you attend, even the people you normally have lunch with. How many times do you repeat the same actions over and over? What can you change this week to start breaking up your routine?
Next, identify the tasks that you tend to procrastinate on or avoid. These tasks generally are the ones that are outside your comfort zone. Take a look at this list and see how many of them are important to your goals. How are you handling them now? How could you do them better? If you are avoiding these activities or are delegating them, then it’s time for you to take action and handle them personally. By being involved in the activity, you will force yourself to interact with different people and possibly to learn a different skill. If you have been handling them in the past, see if they are something you can delegate to someone better suited to the task. By getting someone else involved, you may see a big bump in the success of that activity. The goal here is to make a change – remember you are trying to break free of your comfort zone. And, how you are handling it now is what you are comfortable with.
Finally, try to expand your network. Reach out to your existing lunch partners and ask them if they would like to invite someone from their network to lunch. Take a look at other opportunities to get involved with the community. Join a local community involvement group or volunteer at a charity or nonprofit organization. Sign up for local training events either at a community college or through other professional organizations. Once you start getting active, your momentum will begin carrying you to new experiences and new opportunities.
The keys to making changes are to have an open mind and to get started. Once you are in action, you will continue to stay in action. Having an open mind is also important if you expect to find new opportunities. Be open to new experiences and jump at opportunities when they show up. Get moving, stay active and you will see new successes.
About The Author:
Will Eisenbrandt is an author, business owner, coach, speaker and expert at helping others reach higher and achieve more. “I have never stopped being a student. I continually research, attend classes, and ask questions of everyone I know. When it’s appropriate, I share my knowledge through books, articles, classes, one on one consulting and coaching. I’ve held management and executive positions with several companies, and have been fortunate enough to take that experience and help others reach their goals. ” Will can be reached at http://www.verticalcoach.com or you can follow him on Twitter and Facebook.
