Whether we like it or not–or admit it or not–American culture has shifted over the past decades to embrace the concept of making sure we raise our children to feel good. If you don’t believe me, just look around at how earning an award has shifted. We live in a culture that gives accolades for simply showing up and participating; no merit required; no hard work–just show up, and somehow that qualifies as a reason for recognition. A whole generation of youth are now in our workforce, having spent their entire lives in the concept of feeling good about themselves for doing what they were supposed to be doing. Now is the time to address this issue and understand what should be fueling intrinsic motivation.
Showing Up is Not Enough
This mindset of showing up and being rewarded for that alone has now crept into our world of work. How has it affected your team? Well, if you have spent your life expecting to be acknowledged for attendance, then your workforce has learned that showing up is an act that should be commended rather than an expectation. Merely showing up–not the actions of hard work–have been reinforced as lofty achievements. If you find yourself feeling bad and wondering why people are never commending you when you are coming to work every day and doing the things asked of you–then perhaps it is time to grasp the concept that it takes more than the bare minimum to stand out in your organization and to feel-good–action is what counts.
The paradox of feeling good vs. doing well actually begins with the “doing” and not the “feeling.” By doing your work to the highest degree, then you will inevitably start to feel good.
Execution is King
By doing your job to the best of your ability–doing the things you know you need to do, then you begin to develop a sense of accomplishment. When you look at your day, your week, your month, and you can list your items of execution–the items you accomplished or implemented–then it fosters that good feeling you are searching for. When you execute, what you are actually doing is keeping your commitments to yourself. If you find yourself breaking your commitments, it creates issues with your energetic motion, which I spend a lot of time on in my Intentional Implementer. Suppose your energetic motion stays diminished from failing to follow through on your commitments to yourself. In that case, you will find yourself making endless excuses about your expectations, and you will fall to the notion that you have to feel good all of the time–an unrealistic expectation.
It’s All About Follow Through
One idea that you must relinquish is the expectation that you will feel good all the time. Feeling good is a mindset–not an expectation. You can’t simply expect to feel good–you have to work for it. Feeling good doesn’t simply happen; it happens when you keep your commitments to yourself and do what you set out to accomplish. When you are living your life in this manner, then you can have the optimistic expectation that your forward momentum will propel the areas of your life and your business that you are striving to grow, build, and scale. If you want to feel good, then it requires you to end all excuses and follow-through–you make the phone calls; you get out of your chair, and connect with people; you clean up the things you need to clean up; you write the things you need to write; you participate in courses to gain additional knowledge; you invest in your personal self-development–you do what you said you were going to do!
To feel great and wake up excited to start your day, you have to get yourself to do the things you know you need to do—no more excuses. At the Growth Architect, we want to help you find strategies to increase your follow-through and multiply your results. If you enjoyed this article, watch my video, Feeling Good vs. Doing Well.
Let’s grow!
Beate Chelette is The Growth Architect & Founder of The Women’s Code, a training company specialized in providing companies an ROI on Balanced Leadership. She has been named one of 50 must-follow women entrepreneurs by the Huffington Post. A first-generation immigrant who found herself $135,000 in debt as a single parent, she bootstrapped her passion for photography into a highly successful global business and eventually sold it to Bill Gates in a multimillion-dollar deal.
Beate works with business leaders and supports organizations by developing and providing training the training, tools, and expertise to create and maintain a balanced, equal, and inclusive work environment that fosters creativity, employee engagement, and corporate growth.
Recent clients include Merck, Women’s Legislative Caucus of California, Cal State University Dominguez Hills, Small Business Development Centers (SBDC), NFTE, CreativeLive, the Association of Corporate Growth, and TracyLocke.
Beate is the author of the #1 International Amazon Bestseller “Happy Woman Happy World – How to Go From Overwhelmed to Awesome” a book that corporate trainer and best-selling author Brian Tracy calls “a handbook for every woman who wants health, success and a fulfilling career.
To book Beate to speak or train please connect here. Your Time Is Valuable!
