We’re always training people in something. Whether it’s the way we shake hands, or our email signature, or whether or not we back up our words with actions.
Take a look around the room. If I asked you what kind of person someone was, you’d likely have an answer that described them. And that opinion would be based on what they’ve trained you to learn about them – regardless of whether or not it was on purpose.
We form our assessments on our experiences of people, places, and things. And while we *do* based on who we *are*, the reverse is also true. We are what we do. Have you ever found yourself thinking, “That’s just how I am?” I’d like to be a certain way or accomplish a certain thing, but it can’t happen because I’m just not like that. I’m too much of this or not enough of that.
Sorry my friends, but that just won’t fly. Who we are is simply the conglomeration of what we’ve done. And though what we’ve done may be shaped by multiple factors, it is far from unchangeable. And that “story” about who we are isn’t the truth – it’s simply how we were originally trained by others, and then continued to train ourselves.
“If you do what you did, you’re gonna get what you got.” So if you want a different result, you’re going to have to take different action.
One place for us to look is where we choose that action from.
Often times, we choose from circumstances, like feelings. “I feel good today so I’ll do it,” or “I feel bad today so I won’t.” Or maybe, “I feel bad enough so I will.” Sometimes our actions are chosen from scarcity – not enough time, not enough money, not enough energy.
Life is filled with circumstances. Life *is* circumstances. It’s essentially one big evolving list of circumstances. The question is, how do we want to be – how will we CHOOSE to be – in the face of those circumstances?
Listen, everybody wants something. But the question is who’s committed to making it happen? What matters so much that we will actually take action in service of creating it?
That’s the thing to leverage – the thing to get crystal clear about and take action from. The commitment.
As a coach, I’ve witnessed people change their lives in ways that would blow your mind. And in the end all they did was get clear about their commitments, take consistent action in service of them, and show willingness and courage in the face of their circumstances.
I know this room – this group is capable of anything.
So what are you committed to? And what action will you take today in service of creating it?
Go out and get what’s yours!
