When Your Performance Is Abysmal

When Your Performance Is Abysmal

Maybe you're still in school and you delivered your dissertation but you felt you flopped.  OR you just got out of your company's annual performance review and the results were NOT good.  Whether you were anticipating the bad news or it was a total surprise, it still stings, right?  You might even currently be feeling some combination of embarrassment, disappointment, shock, fear and anger or you're just too worried that your job may be standing on some shaky ground?  Indeed, we'll all feel that LOW and with our shot-down motivation when our performance is abysmal but again, all is NOT lost because that's NOT the end of the world, trust me💹💹💹

And why do I beg you to trust me?  Oh, I've been there, felt that, done that.  And again, ALL IS NOT LOST ]not even if you got with a streak of extremely bad luck].  So how do we handle this?  First, do allow yourself to feel BUMMED OUT. While you might be tempted to protect your EGO by dismissing or rationalizing your boss' feedback, do RESIST THAT URGE💎💎💎

By giving yourself the chance to experience the negative emotions associated with failure, you'll be more motivated to do better next time. Feeling the pain now can act as powerful FUEL to prevent yourself from making similar mistakes in the future.  Once you have slightly [because I promise you, you cant get over the hump overnight], then that's the time to take a step back and focus on doing something about it.  No one enjoys getting a negative review [and things get worse if we DON'T like how  such feedback was delivered to you]⏳⏳⏳

Still, if you can look at the feedback in a objective manner, you'll benefit from it.  One step farther after you did determine the areas you to work on, do SET CLEAR GOALS no less.  Make them challenging enough but achievable. But do articulate for yourself the SUCCESS CRITERIA you need to meet📌📌📌

After the whole nine yards of your recovery plan is laid out, seek FEEDBACK.  Check it out to gauge yourself.  BTW, just DON'T gauge yourself, that's OFF mark.  Along the way, REBUILD RELATIONSHIPS because you can't underestimate the value of your colleagues because they can be HUGE in terms of influence to repair your tattered reputation  PICK UP THE PIECES, dude❗❗❗

Are You A 'NEEDLE-MOVER'?

Are You A 'NEEDLE-MOVER'?

Serious question.  Are You A 'NEEDLE-MOVER'?  Unfortunately, sometimes, this question gets laughed up, with reactions like 'ARE YOU SERIOUS?'  Which means I need to do a bit of my homework and some 'hard sell' here.  Just to ensure we are all on the same page, let's agree on being a 'NEEDLE-MOVER' and simply put, it means that when you're involved either in an endeavor, an initiative or a deliverable, your involvement creates a positive impact that helps things to be done and delivered⏳⏳⏳

At the workplace, we all want to see and have a good job.  And we all want to be appreciated and recognized for our accomplishments and hard work.  And often, an employee is justified is his or her 'under appreciated' feeling but this is NOT about growth potential or intelligence they bring to the job.  To be appreciated [and for a strong organization to grow], people need to tune into where OR how they are indeed moving the needle, if at all💎💎💎

To be blunt about it, as a worker, if we want to claim that we're a 'NEEDLE-MOVER', we need to use the same gauge as our boss [for consistency if we may].  We might recognize 'NEEDLE-MOVER' as an analog idiom, like when moving the needle on a speedometer, the needle gauge on an audio VU meter or otherwise measure a meaningful difference or progress.  Indeed, context is everything but it usually means a positive or productive gain on the scale.  In the marketing space, the measurable gain would be like achieving growth goals and generating sales💊💊💊

So what's our "SUCCESS LESSON' of moving the needle? For any company, the lesson here is that success is likely to follow when both the boss and the employee are watching and moving the same needle.  A meaningful contribution is based on a mutual understanding of what's important and how it is being measured.  So, the same question just bounces back to us: 'HOW ARE WE MOVING THE NEEDLE?', if at all.  BTW, there's a pitfall in this thread📌📌📌

So this 'NEEDLE-MOVER' challenge applies to us all.  You could be a student but how can you be a NEEDLE-MOVER?  If you're into a relationship, are you a NEEDLE-MOVER such that the health if your relationship has progressed enough to be robust and stable?  At work, how far have you proven yourself to be a NEEDLE-MOVER to warrant your dreamt promotion? As an entrepreneur, have you become a NEEDLE-MOVER enough to push up your revenues and further business growth📗📕📘

Have Those 'NOISE CANCELLING' Earphones In Life

Have Those 'NOISE CANCELLING' Earphones In Life

Oh oh oh, this might sound debatable as our piece today.  Wny not Have Those 'NOISE CANCELLING' Earphones In Life?  But you might get back to me, what has earphones and headsets got to do with our life?  Good question, valid one.  Now, let's agree that in life, there are one TOO MANY NOISES, whether we like it or NOT.  Those NOISES would come in different forms and shapes.  And sometimes, they're incognito such that you WON'T even recognize that such noises do exist.  Oooooops, I'm sure this is when things seem murky enough as how can there be incognito NOISES💊💊💊

We're not even talking here about life at the metropolitan area of today's megacities.  You could be living in the lowly-populated island of Hokkaido but noises will be noises and they will be there pestering you, like it or not. When you are with your partner/spouse, loved ones, close friends and workmates, noises will be intrinsically part of the equation.  You just CAN'T shun them off because they seem to carry such NOISES📌📌📌

Let's face it.  It can seem our lives are filled with 'busyness', noise, distractions and sometimes, meaningless activities.  WHAT IF we could filter out all that noise and focus on the meaningful?  WHAT IF we could find 'stillness' instead of such constant distractions?  But again, much of the noise is there by choice but we've fallen into patterns over the years and it seems we're unable to change them💎💎💎

So how do we fix all these noises?  Try to take the rest of today to notice what noise you find in your life.  Even better if you take a little time to make a list.  Example, the noises that come in my life comes from emails, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, Viber, Whatsapp or Telegram.  Of course those SMS and text messages come in as NOISES alongside [even] Messenger, Netflix, name it💚💛💜

Whoah, there you go, a plethora of NOISES that are very much part of our daily lives.  So you might blurt, HOW CAN NOISE CANCELLING happen with these realities.  Simple.  First off, TURN OFF notifications.  That is the crucial first step that does NOT take much effort.  Secondly, cut down on redundant communications platforms.  Ask yourself, DO YOU REALLY NEED Whatsapp, Viber, Telegram and all that stuff?  Seriously, please consider TO HAVE 'NOISE CANCELLATION' earphones in your life✅✅✅
 

DON'T Let The Highs Go TOO HIGH & The Lows TOO LOW

DON'T Let The Highs Go TOO HIGH & The Lows TOO LOW

Famous American soccer player Heather O'Reilly said: 'DON'T Let The Highs Go TOO HIGH & The Lows TOO LOW'.  It may sound a humdrum, another dull and boring quote but please join me to dissect what she says for us to have an insightful appreciation of it.  First and foremost, she's just stated one of the most obvious truths that in life, there are HIGHs and LOWs and that hypothetically, things go TOO HIGH [that's when we are at the zenith of our successes] or TOO LOW [when we get badly battered with those really hard falls which sometimes may prove fatal]. So, should we claim that those TOO HIGHs or TOO LOWs are 'force majeure'?  Not so fast, dude.  That just doesn't add up.  Let's do an apples-to-apples comparison   While there will be outliers and exceptions, by and large, we always have strong influences that push our HIGHs way TOO HIGH and the LOWs get pushed way TOO LOW💎💎💎

Let's patiently dissect this on a piecemeal basis.  First off, let's peg the HIGHs to our successes.  So, you might debate, what's the fuzz if the HIGHs get TOO HIGH?  Ok, let me share a move I made two decades back.  One time, I lured a very technical guy to join my team and I lured him with a salary offer that was 600% higher than his current pay💹💹💹

To cap off my story, while my technical recruit did 'deliver the goods' at work, in his personal life, unfortunately, things just went on a downturn.  In the shortest words, his success in his career DIDN'T translate to an appropriate uptick in his personal life.  It's indeed a puzzle why things turn up [downward] that way but to go back to Heather O'Reilly, DON'T let those HIGHs get TOO HIGH because you might be unable to catch up and cope with stratospheric changes in life.  Swinging over to our LOWs, the caution is DON'T let things go down TOO LOW because it will be damn difficult to recover from such TOO LOWs⏳⏳⏳

There's that clear and present danger when the LOWs get way TOO LOW.  But hold on, how can LOWs get TOO LOW.  There are zillion scenarios that can play out.  Let's look at couples who start off with OFF & ON arguments and quarrels and as it gets more frequent, the quarrels turn to screams and shouts and one day, things turn to physical till one day, they had to go separate ways💊💊💊

So, where do we go from here.  With those HIGHs, yes you deserve to celebrate it BUT don't let those 

kampai's go way too long.  DON'T get choke.  DON'T start to be complacent.  Pick up lessons from your success.  And after all the celebrations, decide if you're fine where you're now or do you want to move the goal post and aim higher?  Where you hit the LOWs,  fix it ASAP.  DON'T leave a single stone unturned so that such LOWs DON'T go TOO LOW because by then, probably only God knows if you can still recover at that point📌📌📌

Is CHAOS Your Friend?

Is CHAOS Your Friend?

Is CHAOS Your Friend?  Sorry about that, this is NOT to put down CHAOS because it is part and parcel of the realities in life.  BUT before we start putting down CHAOS as a no-no, there are very understandable cases why some are indeed a friend of CHAOS.  I may not be a U,S, resident but over there, it's just normal for some families relocating every few years.  And while they may not live out of moving boxes, how can you restore order if in another year or two, you're on the move💎💎💎

In brief, growing up in CHAOTIC conditions like those regular relocations will exact its toll on us no less.  And under those circumstances, it's pretty normal to hear a HOUSE IS NOT A HOME since it was just a house.  So, it's always kinder to remember that there's a reason than to fall back on judgment.  But other than circumstance like this, we should abhor CHAOS because it will do more harm than good in a normal life💹💹💹

But the 'rat race' we're in continuously pushes ourselves in situations of being squeezed.  So, as we continually find ourselves squeezed, what's left for us to is to find alternatives other than just being in that 'squeezed' situation that would then lead to CHAOS.  And as we are led towards CHAOS, we must be conscious enough for us to pre-empt it, if at all

So, when we feel squeezed, there's a tendency for mind to become small.  We then feel miserable, like a victim, like a pathetic, hopeless case.  Yet, believe it or not, at that moment of hassle or bewilderment or embarrassment, our minds could become bigger.  Instead of taking what's occurred as a statement of personal weakness or someone else's power, instead of feeling we are stupid or someone else is unkind, we could drop all those concerns about ourselves and others.  We could be there, feeling off guard, not knowing what to do, just hanging out there with the raw and tender energy of the moment.  That then becomes the point where we can pre-empt CHAOS📗📙📘

So, what's left of us?  COUNTERACT CHAOS!  HOW?  Clinical studies led to developing a simple practice called NOTING and it's often used in mindfulness meditation.  It's a simple practice of NOTING your experience in the current moment.  That NOTING practice brings an awareness to our mind's incessant wanderings while taking the vulnerability out of it.  One key highlight here is STAYING PRESENT when you feel overwhelmed because that's when CHAOS creeps in and takes over you❗❗❗

Timing Is 'EVERTHING'

Timing Is 'EVERTHING' 

Life is too complex.  There are no canned answers for repetitive questions.  NO guaranteed solution for every problem.  WHY?  It's simply because there are one too many iterations you need to churn out before you deep-dive into that plethora of data akin to data mining but many of us still fail and fall flat.  WHY?  It's because of the fact that Timing Is 'EVERTHING' whatever is your pursuit in life right now⏳⏳⏳

A week ago in the NBA game between Miami Heat and the Houston Rockets, the game-winning shot was an alley oop play that was perfectly executed by Jimmy Butler with the 'PERFECT TIMING'.  Yes, the inbound pass of Guard Gabe Vincent was excellent.  And so is Jimmy's agility to literally leave behind his guard for him to 'eat his dust' in 0.3 [or one third] of a second💎💎💎

Outstanding sportsmen who have been lording it over the competition, it's true they spend tonnes and tonnes of time in their punishing training regimens but at the end of the time, when it's GAME TIME, in most cases, it is in the execution when TIMING IS EVERYTHING.  That's the moment of truth which can make or break one's back and even credibility📌📌📌

As opportunities are all over the place, many of us [wrongly] think that we DON'T need to grind and kick our butts hard enough.  That job you have been angling.  That promotion you have been hoping for.  That sales transaction you have been hoping your prospective client will sign up.  That major discounted SALE you wanted.  TIMING IS EVERYTHING💊💊💊

BTW, never miss out the 'emotional piece' in the equation.  You DON'T seek the sweet nod from the girl you've been wooing when you were a 'NO SHOW' in your confirmed dinner.  You DON'T push for your prospect to signup the sales transaction when the economy is depressed.  You DON'T persuade your spouse on your proposal after a big quarrel.  At the end of the day, TIMING IS EVERYTHING❗❗❗

Humans Are 'SELECTIVE'

Humans Are 'SELECTIVE'

Nawh sirrrrrs, today's piece is NOT about these babies.  They are just so 'picture perfect' they're worth sharing.  Anathema to us [as compared to babies], we humans are 'SELECTIVE'.  I can rattle off adjectives choosy, fussy, picky, discriminatory, I'll ran out of adjectives.  But the truth is, we humans are just 'SELECTIVE' enough once any of our senses 'go to work'📗📕📘

Allow me to share this Quora post by Gaia L.  An elderly couple was vacationing in the West.  Sam always wanted a pair of cowboy boots and seeing it on sale, buys it, wears them home, walks proud enough into their room and tells wifey:  Notice anything different sweetie?'  And she says, 'Nope' then Sam says excitedly 'Come on sweetie, take a good look.  Notice something different?'  She blurts out 'Nope'💎💎💎

Frustrated, Sam storms back to the bathroom, undresses and walks back into the room completely naked except for the boots and frustratingly, he blurts again, 'Notice anything different?'  Then sweetie finally says it all: 'Sam, what's different?  It was hanging down yesterday, it is [STILL] hanging down today and it will be hanging down tomorrow!'.  Furious, Sam yells, 'And do you know why it's hanging down, sweetie?  It's hanging down because it's looking at my new boots'.  Sweetie replies, 'Should [yah] bought a hat, Sam'💊💊💊

Truth is, we can have ALL [as in ALL] the fruit varieties right staring our face but the likelihood is, we humans will look for something else NOT laid out before our eyes.  That vacationing couple story may be fiction but essentially, it seems non-fiction because it can't be farther from the TRUTH anyway.  So what's our lesson here?  DON'T assume people see what they must see.  DON'T assume they will hear what they should hear.  You got it all wrong there⏳⏳⏳

You can be out there in the job market, so confident your solid work credentials puts one foot of yours inside already.  OR your CV/Resume just seems so top heavy, only 'divine intervention' will prevent that from happening.  But no sirrrrs, lest you forget, the recruiter/hiring manager is a human, so give him that elbow room to be that 'SELECTIVE'📌📌📌

Bang For The Buck

Bang For The Buck

Yesirrrrrs, from time to time, we do receive INVITES for a free lunch.  You'll get it from accounts and sales folks who are akin to predators lurking out there for opportunities.  But do we know that there is NO such thing as free lunches but instead it's always Bang For The Buck and that's non-negotiable.  The Latin expression says it all:  QUID PRO QUO.  Something has to be taken, something has to be given.  There really is NO bonafide free lunches except when we talk about TREAT or TRICK📗📘📙

Even when we go to the supermarket, it's all VALUE for MONEY.  We really DON'T splurge because it all boils down to figuring things out to eke out a Bang For The Buck.  If you're out in the job market, you've got to convince the recruiters and employers that you undoubtedly offer Bang For The Buck and where there is a perceived potential shortfall, things can't be a GO📌📌📌

In fact, to earn those bucks, you got to do what it takes to 'MAGNETIZE' those bucks over to your end.  In relationships, it can't be that far.  You just DON'T get the 'sweet nod' of the girl your wooing, NOT until she's fully convinced that you got the Bang For The Buck.  If you're an entrepreneur, it becomes equally challenging.  You just CAN'T sweet-talk potential clients.  You got to 'MAGNETIZE' and pull them over to your end⏳⏳⏳

Even with social engineering much embedded in our daily life now, your Bang For The Buck should not hinge on you, on us leveraging on social media.  At the end of the day, those behind social media are humans like us.  Who doesn't want to hear and see the potential intrinsic value in exchange for something that will be given in return💎💎💎

BTW, before we get too euphoric, likening ourselves to be atop that flying aircraft, let us take a serious PULSE CHECK then those results should be inputs to our REALITY CHECK as we closely reassess ourselves, sizing up the odds in and against our favor.  Let us NOT be too cocky, too confident thinking that we DON'T need to lift our finger enough to get what we want.  We got to grind and grind, dude💹💹💹

No Moral Victories In Defeat

No Moral Victories In Defeat

Sometimes [and sometimes it comes in streaks], DEFEAT would hit us in our life [and that's fine as it is part and parcel of life].  What is NOT fine is we end up [habitually] claiming Moral Victories In Defeat because in essence, there is No Moral Victories In Defeat.  A 'L' [Loss] is NOT a 'W' [Win] because you got to eke a WIN to claim that victory.  But sometimes, we tend to flip things💎💎💎

Problem is, when we end up getting hit with a streak of defeats a.k.a. failures, we shrug it off like 'OH THAT'S A ONE-OFF' until that one-off does NOT end up as such when defeat a.k.a. failure keeps recurring.  And instead of ending up to motivate us further, we would take it as a moral victory [even in failure].  No sirrrrs, a failure is a failure, period.  DON'T even window-dress it because that ends up like a square peg you're pushing in a round hole.  

In sports, an often used phrase is 'THERE ARE NO MORAL VICTORIES' and that phrase is extolled by coaches, fans and players alike whenever their team loses a contest.  It places primacy on the score as the only outcome worthy of acknowledgment.   If at all, we need to challenge ourselves and pursue three things as we move forward.  Firstly, let us NOT 'sacrifice the future on the altar today'.  Secondly, let us love our future self as much or more than we do to our current self.  And lastly, let us recognize the genuine miracle it was that they were present in this moment [despite our day to day grind] and never forget this and understand your responsibility.  There are just NO excuses to put in hard work💊💊💊

Bottom line is, to quote American General Colin Powell. 'THERE ARE NO SECRETS TO SUCCESS.  IT IS THE RESULT OF PREPARATION, HARD WORK AND LEARNING FROM FAILURE'.  Hearsay CEO Clara Shih says it further, 'TO WIN, YOU HAVE TO SWIM UPSTREAM EARLY ON - AND THAT REQUIRES HARD WORK and LONG HOURS.  THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS'.  Indeed, all these quotable quotes are 'content heavy'📌📌📌

Yes, defeats and failures are part of the harsh realities in life but no can argue that indeed 'HARD WORK PAYS OFF'.  You can have nothing now.  You are probably scrambling to go straight to the faucet during meal times because you got NO meals on the table.  But that's NEVER the 'end of the world'.  As much as several doors of opportunities may have shut down on you, look around because one or two windows [of opportunities] will open up for you.  There are just NO MORAL VICTORIES IN DEFEAT❗❗❗

When NOT To Make Decisions

When NOT To Make Decisions

Ooooops, I might get bashed if I now lobby when NOT to make decisions because all along, we have advocated that we should act fast based on swift decisions but now, do I seem to take back my words?  No sirrrrrs, our resoluteness to reach swift decisions remains atop the totem pole BUT hey, those were NEVER unconditional words because such statements remain ifffffy.

Topping the list of NO-NOs for you to make your decisions is when you're either emotional or worst, angry.  Note that being emotional could mean being ecstatic and euphoric.  But either way, such emotions are extremely powerful and it can skew our thinking in such a way that end up saying or doing things we would NOT normally do.  And that goes along with rewarding a person after an outstanding performance.  Who knows that was a 'flash in the pan'❓❓❓

At the workplace, you could get exhausted towards the end of day.  And hey, fatigue can result in making decisions that may feel right at that moment of exhaustion but may NOT feel so good once the fatigue has lifted.  So when you are feeling burned out, be cautious and careful regarding making decisions you choose to make and that gets complicated if you're anxious because anxiety can be brutal in the sense that it can take your mind captive and overwhelm your judgment💊💊💊

Such anxiety can be so distressing that people will make any decision just to end it.  However good it may feel at that moment, such decisions are often regretted later on when the anxiety simmers down.  So, better take caution when making decisions while battling a bout of anxiety.  Sometimes, the aftermath of a 'grave loss' deep within you can reshape our normal thought process.

Now let's swing to those moments when we seem to be in 'CLOUD 9'.  As nothing feels more energizing than a great success, those are the moments when all that is needed to get our nod is a slight nudge.  When we're euphoric enough, we become vulnerable to end up with ill-advised decisions.  Never forget WHEN NOT TO MAKE DECISIONS💹💹💹