What If Today Were ‘The First Day’?

As a consultant, I’ve had lots of first days.  I start with a company and I have an open mind about what the problems are and about what it will take to solve them.  I am excited and ambitious about what a difference I can make.  I meet people and don’t make judgments–I don’t know them well enough to make judgments.  I listen carefully to what people say and don’t pick which ones I believe.  I’m aware that they each have their own perceptions and there is a reason for each.  I’m not frustrated on the first day, or behind on my “ToDo’s”, or irritated with my coworkers.  I LOVE the first day.

What I’ve learned over time, on days that AREN’T the first, for days when I AM frustrated, or irritated, or overwhelmed by the problems that now seem insurmountable, is to remember what it is like on the first day.  If this were the first day, I tell myself, I wouldn’t be irritated by this, I would be interested.  I would be patient and would ask questions and would listen.  If this were the first day, I would believe that I could figure out a solution and would put my energy into it.  If it were the first day, this problem would look solveable and these people would seem helpful.   So . . . If I think of this as the first day, and if I act like this is the first day, then it will be the same as the first day and I can start again.

Just sayin’ . . .