Personal Expansion Fundamentals-Part 3

 The third fundamental element of the Personal Expansion Principle that you must develop in order to lay a solid track record for success is to show initiative and leadership. You begin to do this when you decide to learn from past failures and to go above and beyond what people expect of you. But you complete the process by being self-directed and self-motivated to plan ahead and set your own goals within the context of your working environment without having been officially authorized or designated to do so.

   Now there are definite risks that surface when you show initiative and leadership, particularly when it is not an assignment that has been given to you by whoever is supposed to be your boss. If you work for an individual or company that is run top-down, you risk the possibility of being fired rather than promoted. If you decide that the risk is acceptable, then when you’re promoted you know you made the right decision. If your ability to show initiative and leadership causes you to be fired, then you know you were working for the wrong company. What separates successful people from those who are not is their ability to assume the risk of thinking and behaving like leaders, even when they are positioned as followers.

   The fourth fundamental element of the Personal Expansion Principle is that you must develop is to exhibit patience and self-control. It is urgent that this principle be developed and nurtured because there are countless frustrations that act as landmines on your road to success. To exhibit patience and self-control is to deactivate these landmines and allow you to continue unharmed by your own words and behaviors in times of stress.

   Your patience is extremely necessary when you’re dealing with people who either do not see the same goal or direction that you see or who see it and make serious efforts to derail the process of moving forward. Self-control keeps you from blurting out negative statements that will only make matters worse by closing off any opportunity for negotiation. What you will learn is that many people who seem self-confident, poised and in control of themselves are actually frightened and threatened by any change to their life’s routine. So, the thought of change—even for the better—brings out words and behaviors from them that would frustrate anyone who is not afraid or threatened by change.

   When you exhibit patience and self-control with people under these circumstances, you have the opportunity to address the core concerns that drive them in a non-threatening, empathetic manner. Many times, the resistance that people give to new ideas or pathways has more to do with their concerns about the impact on them than it does the merit, usefulness or even necessity of the change. In most cases, your ability to exhibit patience and self-control tends to calm people down and provide them the space to slowly open up so that their fears can be alleviated in a way that affirms their dignity and personhood.

   What should motivate you to exhibit patience and self-control is the reality that you need people to help you achieve your ultimate goal of personal expansion. When you exhibit patience and self-control and invest the necessary time in building the relationships with people that are required, you are investing in yourself and your own personal expansion.