Do What Works for You — Listen to Yourself, Follow Your Gut
We are bombarded with information every day on what we should do and how we should live our lives. From things, you must do to yield the best results or how to become a successful entrepreneur, we hear it all every day. But what if you spent less time listening to everyone and invested more time finding and doing what works for you?
Setting and achieving goals these days seem to be fueled by what everyone else is doing. We are comparing everyone else’s system that works for them instead of identifying what works for us. We are investing so much time trying to match up or live up to the expectations of others, so much that some of us have become frustrated with ourselves or even lost our way.
But do you know that some of the most successful people actually do what works for them? They know what ignites them, what yields the best results and make pushes them or breaks them.
Here I share 3 ways to doing what works for you
1.Listen to yourself: Not everyone is a morning person or will ever be a morning person. Some people work best at nights, others rise at 3 am and produce their best work at that time. Instead of doing what everyone else says you should, why not try different things and see what works best for you.
Do you produce your best work at 6 am after an intense workout or is it at 11 pm at night after you have showered and had some alone time. Don’t get caught up doing what everyone else is doing. What works for others, wont necessarily work for you.
Listening to yourself doesn’t mean you will eliminate what everyone else says — it’s taking notes, evaluating, learning from others and adopting habits or systems that will add value or new meaning to your life.
Listening to yourself is being more aware of how (things make you feel), what (ignites or consumes you) and why (you are doing what you do).
Takeaway: Become more self-aware — self-evaluation and reflection is key.
2. Try new things: Still trying to find your rhythm — try different things over a period of time. Switch up your routine, try different systems and evaluate how it makes you feel.
Richard Branson shares that creating lists helps him to reach his goals and works for him. You won’t know if lists are your thing unless you try. Oprah shared that she doesn’t focus on to-do lists, instead she adds her things to do to her calendar. Maybe that system is for you. Or maybe it is a combination of both Richard Branson and Oprah’s system. Remember, you can also create your own systems. You can come up with your own thing and others will catch on to it if it works for them.
When you try new things — know why you are doing it. Is it a new trend or do you struggle in a particular area that really needs some adjustment?
Takeaway: You won’t know unless you try.
3. Fail at them — learn from them and rinse: So what if you fail at your system — maybe it’s not the best one for you based on where you are in your life. Maybe you need to do something differently that will yield better results. For every new system you create, choose to learn from them.
Remember, periodical assessment is key. It helps you to stay in tuned with who you are. Also, what worked when you were juggling your 9–5 and side hustle won’t necessarily work when you are a full-time entrepreneur.
Takeaway: To fail at something is to know how you can be better — embracing the failures, it will help to navigate you to your true path.
I live by one of life’s simple rules — do what works for you! Get to know who you are, connect with your true self, lead the path instead of the following without questioning.
Sometimes based on our association with others (or what we see others doing) we feel like we need to alter our true selves to ‘fit in’. I have had instances where I was doing things that didn’t seem natural to me and maybe you have too. If you realise you doing something to fit in especially if it’s a trend or because it works best for your friends/coworkers or whoever — it’s not for you! Let it go.
Also remember, whatever new habits or systems you adopt in your life, assess its value. You don’t want to do what works for you for the sake of it … you need to know that it can improve your life for the better.
For more musings on personal growth, career lessons and tips you can apply to your personal and professional life visit my personal blog, www.careyleedixon.com. Also, let me know your thoughts and feel free to recommend the article to those who might need it or find it interesting.
