As a leader ends his/her day, it’s normal to ask a question of evaluation in terms of how successful the day might or might not have been.

However, how that question is phrased in the mind of the leader has much to do with feeding a flow of motivation for the next day (or not so much).

Too often the leader might be tempted to ask the question in some form of another “How close did I get to meeting my internal standards today?” or “Did I do my best today?”  Over time such questions might prove themselves to be demotivating.  After all can you ever end the day saying that you met all of your internal standards that day or that you truly did your best (and could not have done better)?  Most of the leaders that I coach have an internal drive that would find them coming up short on both of those evaluation questions.

Hence this poster exists to remind us of an alternative approach.  Rather than comparing the reality of the day to our own (often unbending) internal set of standards a much more fruitful approach might be to reflect on that drive home from the office on the contributions we made during day to our company and co-workers or as heading off to bed, the contributions we continue to make to our family, loved ones, and friends.

In this marathon we call life, such a question does much to keep topping off our tank of internal energy for running at it yet another day.

Categories: Assertiveness, Competitive Style, Ego, Goal Orientation, Intensity, Passion, Self Responsibility, Vitality