Our Mission:
To help people live happy, successful lives; to harness their natural power and live to their full potential.
"It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere." ----- Agnes Repplier
RESPECT FOR SELF
Remember the catchphrase from the '80s and '90s, "I don't get no respect"? If so, you likely remember that comedian Rodney Dangerfield turned that theme into a hugely successful career.
For most however, getting no respect doesn't come with those kinds of benefits, or any others for that matter. In fact, lack of respect can be very damaging, especially if it's ME not respecting me.
I remember a time fairly early in my sales career when I was struggling with mediocrity and desperately wanting to be more successful. A big part of the reason for my lack of success was that I wasn't very self-disciplined, and that particular shortcoming was showing up big time in my results.
Because of my lack of self-discipline I let a lot of things slide. I put off many of the little tasks that I instinctively knew I should be doing, while at the same time doing other things that I knew I shouldn't. The consequence of this was not only less than desirable outcomes, but also a distinct lack of self-respect.
During that time I learned the hard way that self-respect is absolutely critical to having a healthy self-image (how you 'see' your self), self-esteem (how you 'feel about' and how much you 'value' your self), and self-confidence (how 'capable' you feel you are). These opinions of self then ultimately determine whether or how much you 'like' your self, which inevitably leads to how you treat your self and allow others to treat you.
Boy, talk about a hefty price to pay for a simple lack of self-respect, no wonder Rodney always looked so depressed!
In hindsight, during that stage of my life I did NOT have an abundance of self-respect, so not surprisingly my self-image was iffy, my self-esteem was low, and my self-confidence was shallow.
Finally though, I sat down with myself, took serious stock of my situation, and identified a few things I could do to improve my career. I figured that if I could start my work day earlier than required, do the prospecting and follow up calls that I'd too often neglected, spend more time improving my sales skills, take an increased interest in the condition and display of our inventory, and work at developing a more consistently positive attitude, these changes would soon be reflected in my sales results and income.
Well, I was absolutely right. The only problem was that that was a pretty daunting list for a guy who was used to taking the easy way out. So I decided that rather than trying to fix everything at once I would focus on just one thing at a time, and the first 'thing' I decided on was to develop the ability to manage my attitude. I guessed that if I could just do that one thing (certainly no small feat), then some of the others might naturally fall into place.
So I bought books on the subjects of attitude and thought management and educated myself on how to go about it. I made it my focus and really practiced, went through a process of trial and error, and began making progress. And it made a difference.
It wasn't long before I was feeling much better about myself. I liked how I was more able to deliberately 'choose' how I would feel and behave each day, and appreciated that I was way less susceptible to the negative attitudes and behaviors of others.
Before long I noticed that people were responding more positively to me, and I felt a new confidence in my ability to effectively connect and interact with them. I think I also became nicer to be around at home ... but you'd have to verify that with my wife Kisch.
What happened that I do know for sure is that I gradually gained a new level of respect for ME, which changed the way I felt about me and inspired me to make further changes. This eventually led to a whole new and improved set of work habits; and resulted in positive spin-offs in other areas of my life.
I'm sharing this with you because the further along this path of life I travel, the greater the value I place on respect for self. No doubt this is because I'm learning, as mentioned earlier, that self-respect is critical to a healthy self-image, self-esteem and self-confidence … necessary ingredients in the recipe for a happy and fulfilling life.
So, how do we earn this valuable self-respect? We do it in a thousand little ways.
We gain self-respect each time we keep a promise or follow through on a commitment, and lose it when we don't. The promise or commitment may be to another or to our self; it makes no difference. All that matters is whether we do or don't.
We gain self-respect each time we honour our stated values, and lose it when we don't. So it's important that we chose our values carefully … are they really ours?
We gain self-respect each time we perform a kind act, help someone in need, support a friend going through a difficult time, bite our tongue before talking behind someone's back, look only for the good in another, sincerely compliment someone in public, are completely present with those we are with, or politely say 'no' when asked to do something we know isn't right for us to do at the time … and lose it when we don't.
In the game of life and self-respect everything counts as a plus or a minus, nothing is neutral. These pluses and minuses accumulate, and we sub-consciously tally them up on a regular basis to determine our self-respect 'score'. And that score has a huge effect on every aspect of our life.
Now the way I see it, there's absolutely no need for either you or I to go through life imitating Rodney Dangerfield, it doesn't suit us and it certainly doesn't serve us well. We CAN have respect, especially of self, and all the benefits that go with it. All we have to do is earn it, and we do that in a thousand little ways beginning now.
To your success,
Reg Neufeld
"The only service a friend can really render is to keep up your courage by holding up to you a mirror in which you can see a noble image of yourself." ---- George Bernard Shaw
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Reg Neufeld, founder of Growing Into Success Training, is a teacher of life success and achievement principles using practical, step-by-step processes that can help you get from where you are to where you want to be. If you're ready to take control and begin living a truly happy and successful life, get your FREE success tips now at www.growingintosuccess.com
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Growing Into Success Training
# 32 - 8533 Broadway St
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