After last week, you should have a pretty good idea as to what your strengths are. Way to go! I hope you’re feeling good about yourself and have become aware of just how special you are.
But we can’t stop there. Creating the life of your dreams requires you be totally honest with yourself so you can move forward in your life.
Everyone has made mistakes. Everyone. And all of us have areas in life where we know we are not as strong as we’d like to be. We all know that no one is perfect, but we still may beat ourselves up over these perceived weaknesses.
We can obsess about choices we’ve made that turned out to be *bad*, and we can bemoan our shortcomings, but this will hold us back. What we need to do is acknowledge them, come up with a strategy for managing them, then MOVE ON.
LEARN FROM LIFE
What if, instead of beating yourself up about the bad choices you have made in the past, you thought about what that mistake taught you? If you looked at every error in judgment as a learning experience, you would feel so much better about yourself and your past actions. You could say, *Okay, I learned something valuable from that mistake, and I know not to make this same choice again.* And, most importantly, you would be able to move on with your life and not dwell on the past anymore. If you are always looking backward at your past, you cannot look forward to your future.
Consider your own life: Have there been relationships that ended? Business that went belly up? Or other, ongoing challenges, such as not producing enough cash flow to cover expenses? Not making your family a priority?
Examine these situations and consider what they have to teach you: what changes you should make in your life, what strategies you should adopt, what you should delegate, what you should just let go.
YOU’RE the EXPERT – Empower Yourself
Imagine a person who can never remember where he put his keys. Sometimes they’re in the office, sometimes on the coat rack, sometimes in his pocket. This person is constantly looking for them and holding you up. After a while, you might get pretty frustrated with him. Perhaps you would even say, *Look, you’re really irritating everyone around you. Pick a spot where you will always put your keys-put a hook on the wall or something-and always hang them there, okay?*
Because you were being affected by the person’s forgetfulness, it was easy for you to identify the problem and come up with a quick solution to make the problem go away. What if you could get a little distance from your own foibles? Would that give you a new perspective that would empower you to find solutions?
HOW TO LOOK AT YOURSELF
The new you, the one who has learned so much by experience, can now look honestly in the mirror. You can look at your past without being held hostage by your mistakes or any patterns of behavior you might have. You are in the process of finding your *True North* so you can make a new path toward the life of your dreams. To do that, you need to look very hard at yourself and see what areas you need to improve.
* * * TIPS FOR GETTING STREET SMART * * *
FIND YOUR TRUE NORTH (CONTINUED)
We’re going on with the process of serious reflection and assessment you started last week. You listed your accomplishments and strengths: the first step on the road to finding your *True North,* which is detailed in my book, *The Street Kid’s Guide to Having It All*. Future issues of this e-zine will walk you through all of the steps to creating your dream life. All to come! For this week, ask yourself . . .
REALITY CHECK – WHAT ARE MY PERCEIVED WEAKNESSES?
You will need to be extremely honest and open with yourself. I know this may be a sensitive subject, but this is a critical reality check. You already know in what ways you are excellent: by also knowing in what ways you are *not* excellent, you can manage your weaknesses better. This exercise is called *Perceived Weaknesses* for a reason: these are not absolute. You are just listing areas that you have observed as needing improvement.
Some examples:
I can be forgetful/thoughtless about things not important to me. I lie about my feelings when the truth will lead to a disagreement. I’m sloppy with details. My writing skills are rusty/grammer and spellling not good. I’m impatient and childish if I don’t get what I want *now*.
Complete this simple exercise, and you’re one step closer to your dreams! Next week, we’ll continue finding your True North by completing some easy but in-depth evaluations of key areas in your life: mental and physical health, spirituality, relationships, finances, and career/business.
John Assaraf, aka The Street Kid is a New York Times & Wall Street
Journal Best-Selling Author, Trainer & Entrepreneur. Go to:
http://www.thestreetkid.com to discover his “Secrets To Building A
Multi-Million Dollar Business Guaranteed!” Go to:
http://www.TheStreetKid.com/seminars to register for your No-Cost
eCourse, “The Science Of Making Tons Of Dough.”
