Do you put a lot of stock in your and other’s opinions?
Do you have a distinction between opinion and commitment?
What really matters?
Unfortunately, most of us tend to think our opinions are important. If you listen to the radio, read newspapers or are active on social media, opinions on everything under the sun are rampant. If you study peak performers or visionaries however, as we have for many years, you can quite easily see that while they also have opinions, and very strong ones at times, what really differentiates them is their commitment to action. It may be a bit disconcerting to the ego that one’s opinions do not matter much yet understanding and accepting this is an important step toward supporting oneself right.
Why bother with this?
One simple reason: To save time – not clearly seeing how little opinions matter, one wastes a great deal of time chasing one’s tail. To paraphrase Goethe…Until one is committed nothing happens.
How to start this process:
- Stop and look internally
Be more introspective. Doing so may help you see the foolishness of putting too much value on your opinions and can start the process toward not taking yourself so seriously. - Pay attention
Acknowledge and understand what you are truly committed to doing and be honest about it. Again, this requires some introspection and really benching your ego. - Get into action
Nothing really happens until one is committed and it begins to show up as action. These may simply be small steps, yet they can point you in the direction you want to go.
Hopefully this piece may move you to do some hard thinking about this important issue. If you want to have a phone conversation or meet, please reach out to me at 773-641-9631 or email john@johnruh.com.
Written by John Ruh
John M. Ruh and Associates are mission based business advisors who partner with growth oriented leaders to create the right P.S.T. support: the right People, the right Structure and the right Tools.