Last week, we commenced this series by introducing the concept of self-management, its benefits as well as its four elements. This week, we will begin to discuss the specific ways we can develop our self-management skills.
If there is just one skill set that we need to succeed in life, those shall be self-management skills. These are the skills that we require to get the right things done correctly and efficiently in any and every situation we may find ourselves. For instance, a very well self-managed entrepreneur striving to build a business would have no problem waking up early on a cold morning, after a late night at work, to get ready to go to work again even as they would have preferred to remain in bed for three more hours. Pulling out of bed may not be easy in the circumstance, but the self-managed budding entrepreneur is clear that it is compelling to go to work and get the work done if they are to stand any chance to succeed. That decision and its execution will be based on the understanding and acceptance of the imperative to do the right thing and not just what is situationally convenient.
Self-management skills are, built on certain simple but core principles of success that are unchanging in time and space. In my opinion, there is just a tripod of these principles:
You must work hard to succeed: Working hard is the executory part of getting anything right and good in life done. But do not get caught in the ‘work smart not hard’ arguments. ‘Hard work’ actually comprises of both a smart mental as well as a physical exertion components. Consequently, ‘smart’ work is an integral component of ‘hard’ work with an emphasis on the intellectual rather than the physical dimensions of work. But both are required as complements to each other. The complementarity of the two is succinctly brough out by Tim Notke when he said, “hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard”.
You must be honest: Our technical skills and the relationships we have can always help open doors for us. But in the long run, nothing gives us honour and sustains the opportunities we get, as well as create new ones than being honest. People might sometimes find your truths inconvenient, but you will always be respected for it. The English proverb that ‘honesty is the best policy’ is timeless and fundamental to success. In every situation you ever find yourself, you should never have to think about telling the truth. It should be a permanent and default setting of your mind.
You must continuously develop yourself: In spite of the technologies around that do make things so much easier for us, our lives will continue to get more challenged, perhaps because of globalisation, opportunities, cultural mixes, etc. The only way we can always understand our place and role in the scheme of events, and be able to do what we should rightly do, is to continuously try to understand people, events and things. Developing yourself will help you be able to put issues in their appropriate place regardless of the all the noise and distractions around.
Life throws stuff at us, good and bad. Often, we also attract stuff at us, good and bad also. We should be very alert and good at trying to do the conscionable things and making corrections when we err. According to George Bernard Shaw, “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself”. What he meant is that we should continuously strive to develop ourselves toward being the best we can.
How do we develop the alert mind, right mindset and an active body that is always ready to get the appropriate things done?
Start with taking care of yourself: The cabin crew in an aeroplane would always announce that in the event of an emergency, you should first put on your oxygen mask before you help those in need around you. The logic is very simple: If you do not protect yourself first in that situation, you may pass out before you even complete helping the needy person near you. It is the same thing in most other things in life. But taking care of yourself is not about wanton greed. Rather, it is about developing yourself. It is about preparing and strengthening yourself in the areas you need to help yourself, your loved ones, your business and indeed the world. Simply put, do the right things to take legitimate care of yourself and only then will you be able to do so much more for others.
Always make thoughtful decisions: The first evidence you would notice as you begin to develop your self-management skills is that you will be making decisions better and faster even when they are a little difficult. But there two lanes on the decision-making highway: There is a fast lane for issues against which you have already internalised principles of action on them. If, for instance, a customer unknowingly pays you more cash than they were invoiced, you would, without any delay, alert the customer and return the over-payment. This doesn’t require ‘any thought’ and no time is wasted. On the other hand, if you are considering going into a business that you have never been involved with in the past, you will need to study it a lot. You will need to meet with several experts and people experienced in the business before you will be able to finally make a decision one way or the other. In this situation, you should take your time and not rush into making decisions.
Next week, we will take some more ways we can develop our self-management skills.
