If you are thinking about attending the Snap Out of It! Conference so you can recover your positive mental attitude, start practicing these 5 steps and then come spend two days with 12 inspirational and educational speakers. Hear how all of us Snapped Out of It and now live according to these Be-Attitudes! All of our speakers are women who have overcome adversity, negativity and fear to create the life of their dreams. We are all ready to share how we did it with you. This conference is about finding your perfect blend of mental, spiritual and physical fitness. Join us today!
1. Be respectful: embrace the Golden Rule in every aspect of your life and business. Treat others as you would have them treat you. Do you treat your clients, your spouse, your children, the clerk at the grocery store and the sales person at your front door with equal amounts of respect? How often are you rude or inconsiderate or not paying attention? Lack of attention to others is a form of disrespect that causes disconnection and distance. Yes, those teenagers playing loud music next door are annoying, but treating them rudely doesn't teach them how to solve problems respectfully. Yelling at your children or your staff only teaches them to be afraid of you or to fight back. If we want to be seen as true leaders in our families, communities and businesses, we have to treat everyone with loving-kindness and respect!
2. Be responsible: do you accept 100% responsibility for everything that is happening in your life or your business right now? Do you tend to blame the economy, the neighbor, your spouse, or the past for the problems you are facing? Jack Canfield writes, “If you want to create the life of your dreams then you are going to have to take 100% responsibility for your life...That means giving up all your excuses, your victim stories, all the reasons why you can't and haven't up until now...You have to give them all up forever.” My son is 12 years old. I cannot say my weight problems are the result of baby-weight! Money isn't flowing in like I want it to, did I make all my sales calls this week or send out invoices in a timely manner? No one can make decisions for us. No one can make us feel anything, only we can choose our feelings. At the end of the day, we are the ones spending the money, eating the ice cream and making excuses.
3. Be ready: at my children's school this means to show up to class prepared and ready to go. Let's talk about your business and your relationships for a minute. Are you ready to have a difficult conversation with your husband? Your boss? Your employee? Being ready for me means being prepared to respond in the moment with respect and responsibility to any challenge that arises. How often do you yell at your kids instead of taking a deep breath and responding with respect to something that happened. Do you run away from confrontations at work or at home? I know I have in the past. There is no pause button in life, you cannot permanently hide or run away from problems. There is a re-do button, though. When you don't feel ready, or you respond in a manner that you later regret, apologize and fix it. You will earn people's respect when you respond, accept responsibility and step up to say, I am ready now, can we try again? Also, be ready means be prepared to embrace opportunity. Like a child in school, keep your mind open, be ready to learn, to grow and to accept feedback from others. When you shift your attitude and remind yourself that you are ready for whatever shows up your life, you will be able to meet it head on. You will grow faster and have more fun and you will have fans and followers who love your readiness!
4. Be enthusiastic: we all know people like this, the ones who light up the room when they enter. Are you like a child that looks at the world with wonder and delight? If you approach every challenge and every opportunity with enthusiasm, you solve problems more quickly, creative ideas flow more freely, you see opportunity instead of obstructions. I guarantee that starting your day with an enthusiastic burst of excitement and state, “I can't wait to see what today brings!” or “I know today is going to be amazing, I will accomplish __________ (fill in the blank with your goal!) When you have an enthusiastic be-attitude, people want to be around you, work with you, work for you. Your kids, spouse and co-workers will respond in kind. Pull everyone up with you and embrace enthusiasm as a way of life. Practice right now, stand up, clap your hands together and say, “It's going to be a great day!” You might feel silly, but it will work, I promise.
5. Be curious: Take a page from the lesson book of any three-year-old and cultivate curiosity. How do you think Da Vinci, Einstein and Edison accomplished so much? They approached life with a vivid imagination and one powerful question: WHY? Many of you have heard how many times Edison failed before creating the first light bulb. Hundreds of times! He never saw these instances as failures, he just asked more questions and learned what didn't work, so he could try again to figure out what would work. Parents can be exhausted by their children's relentless asking of the question WHY but it's how we learn, it's where we find inspiration, it's where change and creative ideas originate. As adults, we are embarrassed, afraid or just bored and we forget to ask WHY with that wonderful sense of urgency and wonder of a three-year-old. The next time you have a problem to solve or sit down with a prospective client, ask WHY! You will be amazed at the results!
Dr. Minette Riordan is a wife, mother and entrepreneur who is fascinated by life and people! She is the founder of Scissortail Publishing, a successful multi-media publishing company based in Plano, TX. Visit her online at http://www.bydesignforwomen.com.
