You Are the CEO of the Life of You – Where Will You Invest?
A well-run business operates as efficiently as possible with what they have today while imaging how they can be better tomorrow. They leverage their assets, work to minimize their liabilities, and always have their customers top of mind. They ensure they stay competitive, grow their market share, and deliver value by investing in their future.
If you think of yourself and the life you lead with the same objectivity of your business – what is your strategic plan? What assets should you leverage, liabilities minimize, and how are you investing in your future? After all, you are the CEO of you. Think broadly across all aspects of your life including your career, relationships, and wellbeing. Where are you currently getting the highest return on investment? What areas of yourself have you not invested in over the past few years and how has that decision created some potential liabilities? Is continuing on this path going to get you where you want to be or is it time to step back, restructure, and invest in your future in a different way?
The thought process I am talking about is not complicated or time consuming – it just takes a whole lot of courage. It takes a willingness to see yourself objectively. It is about stepping back and considering what behaviors serve you and are positively impactful and what ones are making it more difficult to realize the person you really want to be. Pick one thing to change in one aspect of your life and in all likelihood, it will have a positive ripple effect on all areas of your life. After all, who we are in one part of our lives shapes who we are in other parts of our lives.
The first place to start this strategic analysis? Think about how you respond when offered feedback. The positive feedback you receive are your assets - how are you leveraging them? On the other hand, do you bristle a little bit when someone offers an insight about your behavior or thought process that they view as less than beneficial? Does it make you feel a little defensive or off-balance if someone challenges you? If so, that characteristic of your personality shows up everywhere. At work, not accepting feedback may create blind spots that impair your decision-making processes. In your marriage, it may mean no matter how many times your spouse tells you it bothers them that you leave your dirty socks on the floor, you still do it. In your friendships, it may mean owning the reality that you really do cancel 50% of the plans you make. That is not because you are busier than everyone else - just less reliable. In each case, investing in yourself by learning to accept feedback, puts you in the position to positively impact all aspects of the future of you.
It is not uncommon to strategically review our businesses to ensure we are growing thoughtfully and purposefully. Why not apply the same practice to the person you are and the one you aspire to be? No business ever grew to greatness without some kind of a plan. What is your plan to leverage all the assets of you and minimize the liabilities, as the CEO of your life?
Need help launching your personal strategic plan? Let’s chat.
