Yesterday, I wrote a post about the subject of… worry!
If you haven’t read it yet get over to http://www.lifetosuccess.com/2011/09/05/what-are-you-worried-about-part-1/ and read it!
I focused more on the things that we have pretty much no control over and suggested a few ideas that we could implement to better prepare ourselves for these problems that may occur that are out of our control.
All of the uncontrollable stuff out of the way, let’s look at the things that we worry about more then anything and that is what others think about us.
We spend an awful lot of time worrying about what others think about us.
OUR REPUTATION!!
We defend, we argue about it, we don’t like when others say bad things about us.
Again, we can not control what others think about us or say about us in a direct way but there are things that we can do that will put the odds in our favor of having a good reputation.
Here we go:
1. Say what you mean and Mean what you say (In a tactful manner) – I wrote a post on this a couple of days ago, make sure to check it out.
When you speak the truth to others about what your vision is and don’t try to phrase it in a manner that says one thing but means another, you will build a reputation of a person who doesn’t try to hide things from others. This is why we have a lot of problems in the US lately, we have been forced to be politically correct so that we don’t bruise the feelings of others.
As we shouldn’t just run over others with our opinions, we should be honest about the points we are trying to make.
And we should expect others to be honest with us about how they feel as well.
Think of it this way, I would rather someone be honest with me about how they feel then be blind sided by it five years down the road.
2. Keep your promises – If you say you are going to do something… DO IT!! This is a good habit to develop.
There are a lot of people who are afraid to say… NO! And they say yes to everything and then end up disappointing others in the end.
The key here is to UNDER promise and OVER deliver.
If you say NO to something but end up getting if done for the person, you look like a hero. But if you say yes and you over book yourself, and you don’t get too it, well you look like a bum.
3. Don’t negatively talk about others behind their backs or gossip – This is one of the fastest ways to develop a bad reputation. There is absolutely no benefit in talking about others when they are not in front of you.
A rule of thumb here is… IF you wouldn’t say it about them while they are in front of you, don’t say it at all.
One of the reasons that people gossip is to make themselves feel better about their less then stellar lives. Some people like to build themselves up, by tearing others down.
If this is something that you partake in, you also need to keep in mind that the person that will gossip with you, will also gossip about you.
The best way to keep your reputation in tact is to help build others up, not tear them down.
So, what are you worried about?
As Always, Here’s to Your LifetoSuccess,
God Bless You,
John Clark