Self Improvement
By Jeff Brown - Pres. CareerTrip.com

The self improvement industry is huge.  Go into any bookstore, as an example, and look at all of the books, tapes and DVDs on this subject.  Recently I watched Andy Andrews on public television talk about “The Seven Decisions”.  He calls them principles because they always work and have over the years.  This month’s article will list those decisions/principles, give some examples and then I will comment on each as I feel they affect those of you who are looking for a new position.  Finally, I tie to the overall subject of self improvement.  More…

The Andy Andrews’ decision/principles are: 

1. THE BUCK STOPS HERE.  The converse of this are those who blame others or circumstances for their situation when in reality they created the situation.  He feels that responsibility equals hope and control.            
   
   Jeff’s comment:  Employers much prefer somebody who accepts responsibility.  It also reminds me of a book written over 30 years ago called, “Reality Therapy”.  The author was a counselor who felt prevalent counseling methodologies of the time that spent scores of counseling hours going back into the counselees past was largely a waste of time.  The counselee needs to start immediately learning how to handle the present and future.      
   
    
2. I WILL SEEK WISDOM.  Andy lists two of many sways.  One is to expedite learning by using books on tape, computer aided learning, etc.  Another is through the people who are around us.  In that regard, he feels true friends are not those who accept us as we are but those who hold us to a higher standard.  In that regard, he also said he makes good decisions because he doesn’t make them alone but instead has an informal board which in essence are people that he seeks out for guidance including family members.         
   
   Jeff’s comment:  A very distressing finding just released by a researcher from Duke University is that in the past 20 years the number of people we can confide in has dropped from 2.94 people, which includes family members, to 2.08!     
   
    
3. I AM A PERSON OF ACTION.  This is the one he said is most important because if we are not such a person then none of the other principles will change us because our lack of action will not put them into motion.  Each time that we do or do not take action it matters.  He then went on to give a long story about Joshua Chamberlain at the Battle of Gettysburg who practiced this.  Because he did, the whole course of the Civil War was supposedly changed. 

Jeff’s comment:  Reminds me of the saying, “some wonder why and others why not”.  While this principle involves your mental outlook it can be influenced by your physical condition.  Being in shape, regularly seeing a doctor and following his/her instructions, getting enough sleep, not using drugs and tobacco products, confining alcohol consumption to limited amounts and only at appropriate times, etc. all effect your energy level and ALL are within your control.      

4. HAVE A DECIDED HEART.  This is the opposite of being indefinite.  We talk about analysis paralysis but the purpose of analysis is to get to a decision.  The unsuccessful make decisions slowly and keep changing their mind.  His definition of a leader is someone who makes decisions and sticks with them.           
   
   Jeff’s comment:  Analysis paralysis is a fact as are those who make tough decision based on intuition or their biases and therefore they are usually bad decisions.  Also, there are those who make decisions as Andy discussed. I agree we should gather the facts, decide within a reasonable time and stay with it (see principle 7).  However, new facts, if of sufficient consequence, should possibly change the decision.
    

5. TODAY I WILL CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY.  One way to do this is to be grateful and a way to do that is to list 50 or so things that you’re grateful for.  He says depression can’t take place in a grateful heart.  A caution here is that some depression is caused by a chemical imbalance and that needs to be treated by a Psychiatrist who can cure such a condition with well established prescription drugs.
   
   He said a related phenomenon is that in measurable ways complainers’ lives get worse and the reason for this is that no one wants to be around them so there’s no positive reinforcement.  Conversely, those that are happy get ongoing positive reinforcement, opportunities, encouragement, etc.        
   
   Andy regularly asked himself, what is it that others would change about me. 

Jeff’s comment:  Great advice.

6. I WILL GREET EACH DAY WITH A FORGIVING SPIRIT.  He talks about anger resolution versus anger management and feels most anger management classes need to focus on anger resolution instead.  An interesting statistic, that he probably made up, is that 99.9% of the people that we are angry at are totally unaware we are angry with them.  He also says that forgiveness is about the past and trust is about the future.  Further, he says that most of us need to first and foremost forgive ourselves.  Without forgiving we can’t have happiness which is principle number 5.  
   
   Jeff’s comment:  As job counselors we see this most in people who have been fired.  They refuse to see that most often it was their fault.  Even if it wasn’t they need to move on.  This unresolved bitterness is very obvious in interviews and results in them not being given further consideration.    
   
    
7. I WILL PERSIST WITHOUT EXCEPTION.  Those who work hard and persist are almost always rewarded and those who do not are not usually rewarded.
   
   Jeff’s comment:  Wish he gave more examples but perhaps it’s so obvious that none are needed.  

Andy’s advice is good and quite frankly so is that of many other motivational speakers such the Stephen Covey’s “Seven Habits of Highly Successful People”.  Several suggestions under the category of self improvement:

1.      Read/hear these types of people on a regular basis.

2.      Realize you can and should continue to improve so in addition to my first suggestion, take those that make sense and discipline yourself to do them – “I am a person of action.”

3.      If you are a religious person choose from the secular ideas these authors/speakers present and reconcile with your faith.

4.      Use aids such as a time management program on a handheld device, a check list you or the author/speaker create, etc.  Using such further aids in the principles/suggestions/guides becoming a habit.

5.      Do a periodic audit of your life.  You many find there are areas where the above is needed.

Finally some of this is so obvious you are a fool not to be doing it regularly.  Move toward self actualization versus the lives too many lead of sub optimization.