How you do anything is how you do everything

Dec 28, 2018

Years ago, I attended a Millionaire Mind Intensive seminar based on T. Harv Eker's bestselling book, <a title="Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060763280/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0060763280&linkCode=as2&tag=evedaybetandb-20&linkId=Y4SSL7SHFQKVUQ42" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Secrets of the Millionaire Mind</a>. It's a great book that can help you understand and change your personal money blueprint. It was there that I first heard the phrase, "How you do anything is how you do everything." I thought, "Ok . . . but what does that really mean?" In business, it might be termed as one's "M.O." or "modus operandi," meaning method of operation. In life, I believe it to be the underlying reason you do anything, as well as the attitude with which you do it. <h4>For example, consider:</h4> <ul> <li>Your demeanor when you wake up. Are you generally pleased to start a new day or do you wish you could just go back to sleep, dreading what lies ahead?</li> <li>Your political/religious views and opinions. Do you listen to the other side's viewpoint and respectfully look for ways to build bridges of understanding or do you spew hate and post disparaging remarks all over the internet because you're right and they're wrong?</li> <li>Your typical reaction to others in rush hour traffic or during a developing storm. Do you easily remain calm or do you turn into a raving maniac or nervous nelly?</li> <li>Your relationships with coworkers, friends, and loved ones. Do you get along well with most everyone or do you more often find yourself in conflict with those around you?</li> <li>Your interaction with clerks, waiters, and other service people. Are you usually grateful and friendly to those who serve you or do you often find fault and complain to management?</li> <li>Your approach to identifying and solving a problem. Do you get right to work to consider all possibilities and find a win-win solution or do you throw your hands in the air in exasperation or bury your head in your hands because it's just too much?</li> <li>Your health habits and patterns in your life. Do you eat well and exercise regularly or do you have a dozen excuses why you can't eat better or lose weight?</li> <li>The stories you tell. Do you find yourself telling the same sad sob stories to anyone who will listen or do you talk of what you dream is possible?</li> <li>Your performance at work, whether it is caring for your children, customer service, sales, or training others. Do you strive for excellence, infusing everything you do with enthusiasm, or do you hate every moment, finding yourself irritated by every little thing and doing just enough to get by?</li> </ul> How you deal with these and many other daily responsibilities are likely how you deal with most things in your life. It is how you approach life. If you are generally optimistic and strive to do your best at work, then that is likely how you approach cleaning your house, studying in school, or dealing with problems. If you are easily frustrated with others or bored at work, it is likely that you are easily frustrated with your friends, spouse, kids and find much about life dull and boring. <h3>How you do anything is how you do everything.</h3> How you handle and manage any situation, challenge or experience in your life is likely how you handle most of them. While this may not be the rule 100% of the time, there are likely few exceptions. Why do I need to know this?, you might be asking. Pondering this will help you to look more closely into the habits and patterns you have that aren't supporting you in creating the life you desire. Looking at your approach to life and towards others, considering the attitude with which you face your problems, ask yourself: <ul> <li>Is this something I feel good about? </li> <li>Are these behaviors working for me? </li> <li>Is every action I take, every word I speak, and every decision I make contributing to the creation of the life I want to live?</li> </ul> Because "how you do anything is how you do everything," it is important to be honest with yourself about how you do "anything." <h3>You CAN change!</h3> If you don't like how you do things, congratulations! You now <a href="https://everydaybetterandbetter.com/tag/own-it/">own it</a> and can get to work to change it . . . one action at a time, one "high road" decision at a time, one carefully chosen thought or word at a time. If you find you don't like the road you are on, take another road. Change your direction. Choose a different path. Sometimes it's that simple. Choosing can often be the hardest part. After all, you are committing to new thoughts and actions but, once you make the choice and are committed to it, you will find that your life will realign to this new way of being. Recognizing behaviors that get in the way of achieving the results you desire is the first step. This demands you to be objective and removed from your defense mechanisms. Most people can identify the obvious things they do that sabotage their outcomes. But, what I really want you to get at are the core behaviors that result in outcomes you don't really want. These are often more subtle and not easily recognized. If you've come up with more things to add to your <a title="You’ve Got to Own It" href="http://everydaybetterandbetter.com/youve-got-to-own-it/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Own It List</a>, go do that quickly. Awareness is 50% of solving a problem!