I am one of those people who spends a lot of time thinking about who I am. I think about my goals (almost daily); I think about my attitude (is it how I want it?); and I ask myself “am I making a difference?” I often wonder how the world sees me and what people think of me. It’s not that I am trying to please everyone and want everyone to like me (that will never happen), but I want to improve my relationships, both personally and professionally.
Take a closer look.
I have to admit that this can be tiring and it is not always easy to do. However, from a relationship building perspective, I believe that it is crucial step.
Have you ever met someone at a networking event that clearly doesn’t know that he or she is annoying or pushy? That person might have a great product to sell, but they overshadow their product with their personality. In this case, if they took a little time to self-reflect, would they see this? Could they evaluate how they are perceived and make minor adjustments to their style to accomplish their goals?
What about the person who is a bad listener? How does this impact the relationships that they are trying to create? This is one of the easiest and hardest areas to correct, but if you start to self-evaluate on a regular basis you can start to find small ways that you can improve. To be honest, this is one of those things that I struggle with and am seeking ways to become a better listener.
And of course, what about your online presence? We all know that there are people who only talk about themselves, promote themselves, care about themselves. There are a lot of those people trying to develop business relationships online. Are YOU someone that YOU would want to talk to? If not, why not? If you are, what would you do better so that more people want to engage with you?
Self-reflection doesn’t mean changing who you are. It means taking a few minutes each day or each week to take a hard look at who you are to see how you can be better.
What do you do to achieve personal growth? How has it impacted your relationships?