A More Effective Way
I own a stack of self improvement books ten feet tall. Achievement seminars I've attended number in the dozens. I had been trying to improve myself since the second grade when Mrs. H. burst my young bubble. Although I went on to fourteen more years as a star pupil, I never forgot the way she made me feel - not good enough. And through the years whenever a co-worker, boss, or customer questioned my motives or integrity, I felt those same feelings - of being not good enough. So what went wrong with my self improvement stint? I tried dutifully to follow the advice in all those books and workshops, showing me what to do and how to be. But, time after time, I failed.
I have come to learn that I did not fail...what I did do was try to copy the efforts of others and expect results for me. My perceived lack of success came from trying to change myself. And, I was forcing on myself the methods and skills that weren't me!
Discovering and embracing your own authenticity is the more effective way toward achieving fulfillment in life. Want to be a better boss, more valuable volunteer, finer parent, more creative employee? Be yourself. Know yourself. Uncover and use your inborn strengths and your natural talents. Your authenticity, then, will serve as the foundation for all you are and do. Lead, manage, parent, create, love...all from this base of authenticity. Then, and only then, those enhancement skills- time management or assertiveness skills for example- will work in balance!
Jane Miller writes and facilitates on Cutting the Cost of Wasted Potential.
Write to her in care of this blog or on-line at
www.millerinstitute.com 717.228.2302 (c2004 Jane Miller)
