Own up to being Grown up

It never ceases to amaze me how much we all moan about our lot - me included.

I will now set you possibly one of the most difficult tasks you have ever been set - try going 24 hours without moaning or complaining about anything. Sounds easy but i tell you it is very, very difficult

This is possibly what appears to be the simplest of all actions to take yet when you try to achieve it is one of the hardest things to do.

I want you to spend 24 hours, yes just a single day where you do not complain about anything. That’s it. That’s the exercise. Spend a day not complaining about the journey to work, the weather, your football team’s result, last night’s TV, your colleagues, your job, your next sales call, your clients, in fact no complaining about anything whatsoever. No using "victim" language. No moaning. No nothing that is negative.

Instead use positive MATURE language that reflects your healthy view of what you can achieve. A positive outlook, a view of what obstacles are in your way and a grown up method for dealing with anything that hits you.

Two things will happen:
1. You will be amazed at how difficult it is
2. You will be amazed at how much you can get done when you focus on being MATURE about dealing with anything and everything

This blog is about the M in our ADMIRe model - Maturity

The key aspect of this element of the model is that we are all responsible for our own lives, our own thoughts – everything we do, we do to satisfy our own emotional needs. The ones we need satisfied at the time we make a decision to do something.

Blaming others, using “victim language” like – “it was not my fault”, “I have to”, “I was only following orders” is an excuse. It is an excuse for not being responsible for your own actions

A simple way to explain this is the “Event – Stimulus – Response” model. Something happens, it stimulates a thought in our minds and we respond or react.

Fact - we are responsible for our own emotions, nobody else. We choose how we respond to a situation based on our emotional needs at the time

These choices we make can be based on our own view of moral responsibility or duty. They are still our choices, based on our emotional needs at the time.

Whether your actions are “for good” reasons or whether they are poor (for example blaming someone else for the situation and doing nothing about it) they are still your actions based on your choice of satisfying your emotional needs.

So we all have the choice to do what we do. Nobody can make you feel guilty or responsible. There is no such thing as sacrifice

You make decisions based on your present emotional needs. You always have. You always will.

Neither is there any value in you being a “victim”. Make a point of not complaining ever about the choices you make and actions you take – it’s up to you.

The good news is that, rather like a vintage claret or cognac, our emotional MATURITY gets better with age. What matters is that you use your experiences to shape how you respond to situations – remember it is not necessarily what happens to you that it is important, it is how you respond to what happens to you that counts.

The great news therefore is that MATURITY enables us to have control over our thoughts and therefore our outcomes

Use this part of the ADMIRe model to focus on how you approach your sales calls. Own up to being Grown up about your own success. A healthy pipeline and great sales results will be the outcome. When you hit a difficult time make sure you do not blame anyone or anything for the circumstances and outcomes.

If you act with MATURITY in a grown up fashion then you are more likely to overcome your difficulties and get back on to the road to success. Dont' forget to LEAP over any obstacles

Next time we will look at the "I" in the ADMIRe model - that is for Interdependence or teamwork.

Speak soon and Good Selling