Years ago I did an exercise suggested by my colleague and friend Karin Bellantoni where I asked a selection of people for words they would use to describe me.
It has me thinking (not a shocker) about perception and reality. This brought me back to the 80’s when Lee Atwater said, “Perception is reality.”
Are you deciding who you want to be?
When I speak live about inside sales success, one of the exercises I still do at the very beginning … with no explanation …is to have people write down ONE word that they want people to believe about them.
Play along – write yours down now!
I speak for about 2 minutes, then I ask the audience to give words they believe about ME.
My next slide, of course, is the word I chose that I wanted them to believe about me.
Sometimes I do a good job, and the words match up exactly OR are similar. Other times I’m way off at projecting the “me” I want them to believe in.
What I do know is that if I don’t decide ahead of time what I want to project – it never matches.
Don’t allow today’s challenges to change YOU.
If the hardest part is making the decision of how you want to be seen, then the second is to keep that in the forefront of your mind in the face of adversity.
It may be business adversity, personal struggles, or all of the things that make you doubt who you are inside. However, don’t allow today’s trials to impact who you have chosen as the “you” that you want to present to the world.
Keep that one word in your heart, in your head, and maybe even on a Post-It Note.
When in doubt, sometimes it’s easier to believe in yourself when you hear it from someone else. In that case, I recommend you call someone you know who believes in you.
As we move into the next year – I wish you the strength to be the person you desire to become.
I wish for you the wisdom to know when to ask for help and to seek it out … along with all the perseverance, resilience, and enthusiasm you need to be your best!
To your success,
Lynn
Perception IS Reality
