In Business and in Life be the Best Version of Yourself
There are moments in our lives that set the course of our thinking and actions in both business and in life. I recall one of those moments many years ago when I was finishing college and interning at a local television station. That experience was an enormous influence in knowing how I wanted to be perceived as I transitioned into launching my career and those decisions continue to be part of my core foundation today.
One day during this internship, I was in the newsroom and the female news anchor was so rude to me for absolutely no reason. I wasn’t even her intern so I was confused as to why she had lashed out at me so rudely. What I quickly realized is that it wasn’t about me at all and I felt badly for her because she felt the need to be so aggressive to others. How hard it must have been to even get to the position she had achieved and through her journey had been conditioned to respond to others in this outwardly aggressive way.
The second thing I remember was deciding in that moment that I didn’t want to treat others this way in life or in business. I made the intentional choice to be aware of my words and actions and at the very least self-correct if I found myself having moments of that salty and unpleasant outwardly aggressive behavior.
Why does this matter especially when we see individuals who continue to climb the corporate ladder who have this intrinsic type of behavior? It does matter in every possible way. It comes down to who you choose to be and how you can be the best version of yourself every day or at the very least recognize behaviors that are not your best and choose to start again. Yes, others do move ahead career wise exhibiting fear based and sometimes hostile behaviors but at their very core are they happy with who they are and what they have achieved? Is there something in their life they willingly sacrificed to reach the perceived level of success?
So much has been revealed in this world lately of people taking advantage of their power to further their careers. In the end, is it worth it? The bigger question is, who do you choose to be? Are you the best version of yourself in both your business and personal life?
A good place to begin is to begin to think about your answers to the following thought starters:
Who are you (in business and in your personal life)?
Does your business or personal persona define who you are?
What do you have to offer (and are you delivering daily)?
Why does this matter (is it positively affecting all areas of your life)?
What’s stopping you from truly being who you choose to be and contributing in all areas of your life in the most positive and productive way possible?
It really doesn’t matter who you were or what you did in the past or even just yesterday, it is who you choose to be in this moment that matters the most. If you find yourself saying or behaving in a way that is not true to who you are or who you want to be, stop and choose to start again even if it means restarting a conversation or action multiple times within the same day.
When you make the choice to change your story, you will become the best version of yourself every day to inspire yourself and others. Evolving Matters!