Better Has No Finish Line
How often have you said to yourself, “I can do better”? Even when you have reached a peak in something you are working on, after some time and reflection, you likely have evaluated the situation and said that very same thing, “I can do better.” Most leaders know there is no such thing as perfection. The smartest do not strive for the impossible, rather they do continue to seek the next level of what is possible...better.Seeking on-going improvement is a way to ensure long-term success. In the world we live in there infinite outcomes and possibilities, so believing there is an end point is a false hope. Instead, leaders intuitively know that a plateau is merely a stop along the way to an endless journey of all that can be. We seek to learn new things, try different ideas, and push ourselves and our teams to new heights, all in the quest for better.
Challenge What You Know
Are you always learning new things? If not, you are missing an opportunity to push the ‘better line’ further out. Thirsting for new ideas and knowledge is one of the best ways we can push our boundaries of what we believe to be possible. Can you recall a time when you were reading a book or and article, or perhaps it was while watching a movie that you came across an idea that you hadn’t thought of in the context of your business? Suddenly, a new set of options opened up and ideas begin flowing. Where you once believed you had reached the end of the road, suddenly hidden avenues appeared that lead to whole new ways of thinking.We must continually challenge ourselves to learn new ideas and concepts from anyone or anywhere we can. Push your learning curve forward and look for new arenas to gain new knowledge so you can open up a world of new possibilities.
Leave Limiting Beliefs Behind
Michael Hyatt has explored limiting beliefs in a couple of worthwhile articles, Are Your Beliefs Keeping You Stuck? and Are Limiting Beliefs Keeping You Trapped at Work?that provide some insight into what a limiting belief is and how to overcome them. In short, we sometime limit ourselves based on what our experiences or our perceptions of a situation may be. Finding a way past those barriers is a key to personal growth and development.Beyond challenging yourself to learn new things, it is important to let go of some of the things you do know. Those thoughts can hold us back. If we believe that we have reached the end of the road and that no further progress is possible, that belief will indeed stop your progress. If a previous experience limits your thinking to what could become reality in the future, you do everyone a disservice. Utilize your new learning to leap over limited thinking hurdles. Seek counsel from your team, your peers, or your mentors to help find your potential blind spots or thinking that could hold back your potential.There is a competitiveness that comes with seeking better, but rarely is reaching for better about beating someone else. The best leaders seek to push themselves forward and be better than what they have already achieved. Those leaders are the ones that lead for the future. A future full of possibilities, new adventures, and outcomes that some may not believe exist. When we push ourselves to these levels it is because we know that better has no finish line.How do you challenge yourself to reach new heights? Share your thoughts in comments.