WHAT’S ONE THING YOU DO THAT MAKES YOU FEEL SUCCESSFUL?

This week I was reading a column by Jason Jenks in The Athletic online sports newsletter. Recently, The Athletic, which is published by the New York Times, started a series called “The Peak,” which focuses on leadership strategies, ideas and opinions in the world of sports.

Jenks said that his Athletic colleague, Elise Devlin, had posed an interesting question to several current athletes and athletic administrators:

What’s one thing you do that makes you feel successful?

Spencer Strider, a picture for the Atlanta Braves, cited engaging in delayed gratification. He said that “if I can make something harder for myself before I reward myself, then I’ve earned it. I really like that mentality. “

Jessica Berman, the commissioner of the National Women’s Soccer League, cited hugging her dogs. She said that doing so “reminds me that those little doses of encouragement really can fuel everything you want to do in your life. It’s a fall force multiplier.”

Oscar Piastri, a Formula One driver for McLaren, said that he focuses on starting things the right way every morning. He does the harder things first because it gives him a sense of achievement. He focuses not just on what to do, but also what not to do, like doom scrolling on his cell phone.

According to him, “success is the sense of achievement. As long as you do what you know is the right thing to do, the most that you can, then that’s all you can do. That’s your own sense of achievement. “

I started thinking: What’s the one thing I do that helps me feel successful each day? Guess what? I could not come up with one answer.

So I came up with four distinct answers:

-I start each day with a positive attitude, regardless of what is on my plate for that particular day

-I am intentional about what I wish to accomplish each day

-I always strive to do the best I can and do what I think is right; if I do those two things, I can go to sleep at night with a sense of satisfaction

-I focus on helping other people feel good, achieve their goals and enhance their self-esteem

Now I ask you this same question. It’s an important question yet one we often overlook, Why do we overlook this very helpful question?

Because we are too busy trying to get things done. We are moving from one meeting to the next meeting, from one phone call to the next phone call, from one series of emails or texts to the next series. We have our to-do lists in front of us, either mentally or physically.

So, as you read this week’s newsletter, I invite you to give yourself permission to step back, pause, and in that moment of solitude, answer the question for yourself.

What’s the one thing that you do during the day that helps you feel successful?

Of course, the follow-up question is: How frequently do you do it?

And if you do not do it each day, what is getting in your way? Or, more pointedly, what are you allowing to get in your way?

Please feel free to share your answers with me, and I will be happy to share them anonymously with our subscribers in the future. Your answers can provide ideas and motivation for other leaders. And isn’t that what sharing leadership ideas is all about?

Make it a great week ahead, everyone. May you be successful and effective and happy as we move into the month of June.!

If you believe this content would resonate with a friend or colleague, please feel free to forward it along!

-Larry