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What Does It Mean to Think Strategically?

January 3, 2022 John Uncategorized No comments

I’ve always felt that improving how you think will go a long way toward improving what you think. The result is a marked improvement in your life.

As a new year begins, GenuLines offers a closer look at the thought process.

What Does It Mean to Think Strategically

“The purpose of life is a life of purpose” – Robert Byrne

Have you ever thought about what it means to think strategically? Does it mean to create strategies like in a war?

Is it a skill you are born with or something you learn? Strategic thinking seems like vague buzzwords.

The kind that CEOs toss around to sound important.

Learning

Actually, strategic thinking is a skill we can all learn. It’s how we plan, think, and ask questions to grow and learn while we work toward a goal.

It’s embracing what you were like when you were young child. When you asked questions like, “why?”

Thinking strategically grows out of a combination of knowledge, experiences, and your hunches. It’s about taking calculated and uncalculated risks that we hope will pay off in the future.

It’s about shifting your focus. You go from just doing things to thinking and planning what should be getting done.

Three Behaviors That Inspire Thinking

Strategically Switching your focus is easier said than done. To cultivate a mind of thinking strategically, these three behaviors can help.

Question why. Don’t accept doing a task a certain way because it’s the way it’s always been done.

Ask yourself why it’s done that way. Or if there’s a better way to do it.

Thinking strategically is about knowledge to help you make an informed decision. Asking questions and listening to others’ opinions is important.

It supplies you with the information you need to make a well-informed decision.

Observe everything

Spending every minute doing stuff and getting things done might seem productive.

But it doesn’t allow for you to think strategically about what you are doing.

Instead occasionally step back and observe what’s going on. Look for areas that could be more efficient. Who’s doing what and how much each activity is helping things move forward.

Look at the big picture. See the way the pieces fit together.

Reflect on your day

Think about what gave you energy or took it away.

Reflect on the activities that helped the organization move ahead. And the ones that wasted your time.

Reflection time each day allows you to ask yourself if you’re on the right path. Whether you develop solutions, and stay on track with your goals.

This is where inspiration and creativity have a chance to grow in a visible way.

Takeaway

When you focus on doing and making something happen by doing this and doing that, you’re working hard. But you’re not thinking strategically.

Of course, working and doing is necessary up to a point.

Instead stop focusing on just getting things done. Take a step back and set goals for what you want in the future and how you can help the organization win.

Thinking strategically is inspiring. You move away from going through the motions in a mindless way.

You don’t jump at the commands of others. Or you plan and observe and put ideas into motion.

And that takes you (and your team) to success.

JohnK 1-3-2022

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Overheard: “The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks.”

~Christopher Hitchens, Lettets to a Young Contrarian

Real Happiness Comes From Within

June 21, 2021 John Uncategorized No comments

If most people agree on anything it’s that they want to be happy. But many don’t know how to get to that state.

GenuLines asks you to consider a road map that shows the starting point is VERY close to home!

Real Happiness Comes From Within

Life isn’t always a sip of the sweetest nectar. Often when we look around, everybody else seems to have a happier life.

Yet they may be thinking the same about us. So, how do you become happy?

A good start is to love yourself.

To love yourself means to accept that you’re not a perfect being, but you are a valuable human being. You have as much worth as anyone else.

Genuine happiness also implies contentment and a certain level of peace. It’s not about always being ecstatic.

You’ll experience happiness when you feel good about your job. Or your family and friends.

Your looks, your living arrangement, your car, and your possessions.

Life teaches you about right and wrong, trying and failing, winning and losing. Failure is part of life, and it can be an important step on the way to success.

It should never stop you from being happy.

But what about the downtimes?

How can we be happy in the face of negative feelings?

Start by making an effort to improve the quality of your life and your surroundings. Better yet, help somebody else do that.

Whether it’s cleaning up your room, helping a friend, taking care of your sick dog, working out … they all can help you feel better.

Imagine life as a big scoreboard like the ones used in pro sports. Every time you take a step forward, you score points.

Wouldn’t it be nice to look at that board at the end of each game and think to yourself “Whew! Not bad. I’m glad I gave it a shot.”, instead of looking at a bunch of zeroes.

Genuine happiness isn’t about driving the hottest car. Or being employee of the year.

How do you become genuinely happy?

Everyone has their own definition of happiness. But you don’t have to be rich or even successful in worldly terms.

It’s about doing and making the best out of every situation. When you can laugh at your own mistakes yet be willing to try again you’re getting it.

When you learn to accept yourself and your faults, you pass ‘Happiness 101’. If you have trouble doing this, work on accepting others and their faults.

When you know how to accept others, you’ll likely get acceptance from them. Know how to love and expect more love to come your way.

JohnK 6-21-2021

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Overheard: “Happiness is a state of activity”

~Aristotle

Article image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

Stop Focusing on Your Past Mistakes and Failures

June 14, 2021 John Uncategorized No comments

Reminiscing and thinking about the past can be a great exercise. It’s always good to have a healthy respect for things that have come and gone.

But you don’t want to live in the past, and GenuLines can help you adjust your view of days gone by.

Stop Focusing on Your Past Mistakes and Failures

They say that learning from history is how you best ensure a good future. That said, if you’re living in the past you’re doing more harm than good.

And if you’re replaying negative events in your mind it’s even worse.

It’s also a surefire way to temper your boldness. And it lessens your resolve when you face future challenges.

So how do you stop doing that?

Learn to Value Your Mistakes

The first thing to do is to value your mistakes. Remember that mistakes teach you things.

They make you stronger and wiser. And they give your personal narratives a more interesting and more unique bent.

It’s not our successes that cause us to grow and develop but our mistakes. And each failure brings you one step closer to being the person you want to be.

Realize that your mistake has merit and value in itself. Then you can be a little more comfortable accepting it as part of your story.

Looking Forward

The next thing to do is to look forward and to remember that things are going to get better now. You’ve had your mistake, so how are you going to learn from that and use it to drive you in the future?

Don’t think about how your last relationship was a failure, Focus on how you’re going to make the next one a success.

Forgive Yourself

Many of us focus on our failures. We obsess over them because we’re frustrated with ourselves or we even feel guilty.

The key then is to stop aiming for perfection. Remember: you’re only human and mistakes are par for the course.

They’re acceptable and in fact, you can expect them. Know this and let your missteps go.

Ask yourself: would you beat someone else up if they had the same failure?

Learn to Let Go

Letting go in itself is something of an art form. If you’re an obsessive personality this is a skill that’s well worth learning.

You might consider seeing a cognitive-behavioral therapist. Besides learning to let go you’ll re-work your thoughts in a more positive way.

JohnK 6-14-2021

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Overheard: “The past is never dead. It’s not even past” ~William Faulkner

Boost Your Motivation With a Bit of Science

November 9, 2020 John Uncategorized No comments

Motivation is a key component of success. Sure, talent, intelligence, and money can play a part.

But there’s a science involved as well, and GenuLines wants you to put it to work in your path to success.

(Listen to this article by clicking here)

Boost Your Motivation With a Bit of Science

We all have lists of things we

“hope” we’ll do. But how do we

put these things into the “done”

column?

Let’s take a look at the science of motivation and the ways to harness it to your advantage.

An Improved Approach to Motivation

Dan Pink wrote a best-selling book, “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us.” He says that there are three components of motivation that push us to get things done.

And he scraps the old carrot and stick types of reward systems.

Instead, Pink argues that a scientific approach gives us a better view of the subject. This, he says, helps us come up with strategies to power up motivation.

Three Elements of Motivation

Pink says research shows that autonomy, value, and competence drive motivation. Autonomy refers to the amount of control or independence we feel over a task or action.

He says studies point to a connection between input on a task and better follow through.

The second component of motivation is value. This is the amount of personal significance or importance you place on a matter.

In other words, if something matters to you on a personal level, you’ll feel more motivated to take it on.

Competence comes from a feeling of mastery as it relates to practice and hard work. This doesn’t mean you have to have natural abilities.

Spending time developing competence seems to increase chances of reaching the goal.

Strategies to Increase Motivation

Now you have an understanding of what matters most with regard to what motivates us. So let’s look at some strategies to increase motivation.

With autonomy as a guide, let’s consider ways to add a sense of control or involvement in activities. One way to do this is to take ownership of a chore or add some aspect of self-direction to it.

Let’s say you’re having difficulty starting a project such as submitting a paper. It may help to think of all the ways doing this will set you apart as an expert in your field.

You’ll see that turning in the paper is a necessary part of sharing your unique views with your colleagues.

To add value to your task, you want to make it meaningful or personal. Find a way to add purpose to that item on your to-do list.

This involves changing your perspective or the way you look at that item.

Doing your taxes is a chore you might dread. Add purpose to it by focusing on the work you’ve done that’s represented by the numbers on the page.

Or the contribution you’ve made to your job and community through your efforts. Paying taxes is a symbol of good citizenry.

Finally, there’s competence. Feeling mastery over an act requires practice.

Try to look at the job at hand as one in which you are working toward an end goal of skillfulness.

For instance, you’ll soon see the treadmill as less of an adversary the more workout sessions you endure. As you get fitter you’ll see exercise as a little easier.

And, you’ll get a feeling of accomplishment.

Motivation is not always easy to come by. But with a little knowledge of science you can be more effective in moving toward your dreams.

In time you’ll be mastering your goals. And that will fuel your motivation in the future.

JohnK 11-9-2020

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Overheard: “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”

~Nelson Mandela

How to Set Powerful Goals You Can Achieve (pt 2)

January 8, 2020 John Uncategorized No comments

Your goals are important to you. That’s why GenuLines used two days to cover the topic.

Today we offer some takeaway thoughts toward reaching your goals and building your genuine life!

How to Set Powerful Goals You Can Achieve (pt 2)

Be Measurable

At which point have you achieved the goal? If you can’t come up with a number or something that’s measurable, then you won’t have a real goal.

Let’s say you want your business to earn x number of dollars each week by a certain date. You would work out the how and why you’re going to do it.

Be Actionable

To achieve any goal there have to be steps you can take to get there. It’s like using a map to reach a vacation destination.

You need to draw a map to your vision of success with the steps and paths you’ll take along the way. Put not only what but when, and how you’ll reach your endpoint.

Be Realistic

You don’t want to work toward a goal that’s too hard to achieve or worse, impossible. Make sure to do thorough research and be realistic about your expectations.

For example, you’re not likely going to start a business today and earn six figures by tomorrow. Or even your first year in business.

Look at the research and determine what is doable and how you’ll do it.

Be Timely

Every goal has to have a time limit otherwise you may never achieve it. Start at the end and work your way back to today.

Create a list of things to do each day to finally reach the end result. But, do set a time limit. You can adjust as you get into the project if it works to be more realistic.

But resist the urge to change the time because you’re not sticking to your task lists.

Now Create!

Keep these points in mind to create powerful goals that you can achieve.

You’ll reduce your failure chances because:

you can always adjust your timeline and your goals
you’ll learn as you move along in the process

The important thing is to give each goal a lot of thought, consideration, and study before setting it.

JohnK 1-8-2020

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Overheard: “All successful people have a goal. No one can get anywhere unless he knows where he wants to go and what he wants to be or do”

~Norman Vincent Peale

Article Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

How to Set Powerful Goals You Can Achieve

January 7, 2020 John Uncategorized No comments

Goals are a sort-of road map on your life’s journey. You want them to be satisfying, yes. But you don’t want them to be too challenging.

In this first of a two part post GenuLines offers a map to guide you on a comfortable and rewarding trip!

How to Set Powerful Goals You Can Achieve

Say you need a fresh start? O.K., you want to challenge yourself, but you don’t want to make things so tough that you fail.

First we’ll look inside, at the things that are important to you. And we’ll make sure that these goals are even doable.

Match Your Core Values

Start with four main areas in your life.

Family
Financial
Physical
Personal

The better you goal fits into one or more of these the more likely your goal is achievable.

If for some reason a goal doesn’t fit into one of your core values, it’s not likely you’ll experience much success.

Be 100 Percent in Control

Goals that rely on others are not necessarily wrong. But they can be harder to achieve.

A goal you control 100 percent is one that you can reach.

Make sure fear isn’t getting in your way. Be realistic about whether you do have control or not and give yourself more credit. And, don’t blame fate for your setbacks.

Don’t think you lack control over your financial future because “that’s just how it is,”

Be Able to Envision the Goal

If you can’t see the end result, it will be very difficult to move forward toward achieving the goal. If you need to draw a picture, make a vision board.

Or take a day off to fantasize about your big dreams. Imagine how it all fits together in the big picture of your life. You need to see the end to be able to achieve it.

Be Specific-Spell It Out

Every goal you set needs to be very exact in nature. If you want to be sure to reach the goal, you have to know when you’ve actually reached it. Instead of saying “I want to start a business,” state exactly what type of business you want to start.

Know who you want as your clients. Know all you can to make the goal more concrete.

JohnK 1-7-2020

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Overheard: “If a man knows not to which port he sails, no wind is favorable.”

~Seneca the Younger

Happiness Doesn’t Run On Success

December 27, 2019 John Uncategorized No comments

Happiness runs on a diet of success. That seems to make sense.

But GenuLines asks you to consider a different path to happiness.

Happiness Doesn’t Run On Success

It’s easy to simplify happiness and say that it’s obvious that successful people are happy. But if you interviewed 100 successful people you might find otherwise.

You can have wealth, great spouse and kids, and yet not be happy.

Turn the equation around and you find that happiness fuels success.

The Effect on Productivity

When people are happy with their work, they approach it more with a more cheerful attitude (some say they’d do it for nothing) When you have good health, food, and shelter you can find joy doing the most mundane things.

You focus on outcomes instead of effort.

The Bottom Line

Certain companies offer living wages, benefits, and flexible schedules. This can result in higher profits for the employer.

When people feel respected they’re likely happier about work, even when it’s hard.

Stability

When people are happy, they tend to be a lot more stable. They stick to tasks longer, and are more likely to complete an assignment.

They tend to job hop a lot less, too. This is one reason smart employers know that by making work a happy place they can reduce turnover.

A Better Work Ethic

People often think of work ethic as something that grows out of adversity. Happy people tend to stick to their jobs longer and work even harder.

They put their positive energy into envisioning the outcomes.

Don’t Bet on Wealth

An unhappy wealthy person may even be hateful. They seem to have everything but happiness.

Bank balances look good but don’t always make you feel good.

A New Attitude

It may surprise you but happiness can color your view of the world. You’ll see brighter outcomes regardless of your situation.

Staying In The Now

If you’re happy today you’re more likely to eat right, move more, get your work done, and do everything well. Of course, that can affect the future too.

Mindset

Still, doubt that happiness comes from your mindset? With some effort, you can train yourself to have a happier and more positive mindset.

This can work during tough times, too.

You can realize happiness now regardless of your life situation.

Accept that possibility while at the same time planning to make changes.

JohnK 12-27-2019

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Overheard: “People don’t notice whether it’s winter or summer when they’re

happy”

~Anton Chekhov

How to Use Failure to Strengthen Belief in Yourself

August 27, 2019 John Uncategorized No comments

Does the thought of failure fill you with dread? You’re not alone.

Read on as GenuLines looks at some ideas to help you believe in yourself and to loosen failure’s grip.

How to Use Failure to Strengthen Belief in Yourself

One of the best tools for dealing with failure is failure itself. You can examine it to figure out what went wrong.

You can look back on the steps you took and try to find the exact point of failure. Then you’ll be able to choose alternative steps based on this information.

You do need to be honest in your assessment of why the failure happened.

If you blame others for your failures, you’ll mask the causes, and you’ll never move on. It’s easier to blame others rather than admit mistakes.

But you aren’t doing yourself any favors when you do this.

Recognizing your failure is important, but don’t be hypercritical. Putting yourself down because you failed won’t help your cause.

Know that failure happens and embrace it. Then, you can take a step back and figure out your next move.

Learning from others

You can get inspiration from the failure of others. People write about their trials and tribulations in books.

They record videos about their setbacks. Their experiences can help you by giving you tips on how to avoid the mistakes they made.

Using this approach can help you turn things around at a much faster rate. If you’re not doing this yet, give it some thought.

Drawing from the experiences of others also shows you that you aren’t alone. Many of the most successful people overcame obstacles.

Their stories can help you feel better about your own slip-ups.

In other words, if they did it, so can you. That too is a powerful benefit of using failure to your advantage.

If you’re repeating the same mistakes over and over, it’s time to take a hard look at what you’re doing. If you’re struggling to break that cycle, you may want to find a coach who can help you.

Sometimes, that extra push can be all that you need to get you to break out of the pattern.

JohnK 8-27-2019

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Overheard: “Failure is success if we learn from it”