It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)
I read this quote from Steve Jobs (The Co-Founder and CEO of Apple) and it made me think:
"For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: 'If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?' And whenever the answer has been 'NO' for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something."
Have you ever been afraid to do honest evaluation in your life?
If you're like me...
You're afraid of what you'll find... You might not like it!
You're afraid of the work it will take to address what you find.
You're afraid of what others will think when they see you address the mess that's going on.
The list can go on and on, but sometimes it's just easier to ignore the things that aren't working or the things that are creating a mess. It's easier.... for a time.
Job's quote hit me because I care deeply about evaluation. I'm not afraid of taking a hard look at my work, at a project I'm doing, at an organization I'm working with or at a team I'm a part of. I'm not afraid of that, and I find great value when we stop and evaluate.
Here's why I evaluate:
Out of evaluation...
GROWTH COMES: We get better, we expand, we grow.
EFFECTIVENESS COMES: We work better because we're making changes along the way that lead to greater effectiveness.
GREATER IMPACT AND SUCCESS: Through evaluation, we're able to increase the results of our efforts. Greater impact always follows growth and effectiveness.
WE GET BETTER AT IT. The more we evaluate, the better we get at it. Practice leads to getting more comfortable with it and it eventually becomes a part of our culture.
For some of us, evaluating at work or on a project is much easier than evaluating your own life. For the same reasons above, personal evaluation helps us in so many ways, but here are a couple of other things that come when we take a deeper look into our lives:
TRUTH SHOWS UP: When we stop and look, we will find the truth. Sometimes this is painful, but it's always profitable!
WE ADDRESS THE PAIN: We're really good at dancing around the real issues and avoiding areas of our life where there is true pain. When we seek truth, we're finally able to address the pain.
CHANGE CAN HAPPEN: When we stop and evaluate, we're then able to make the adjustment that will bring about real change. This will affect every area of our life. True evaluation must lead to true change.
Don't be afraid of evaluation, but rather make it a part of your everyday life, both personally and professionally. Evaluation is the start of so many great things that can happen in you and through you.
*You've heard me talk about a LifePlan before. I did my LifePlan 5 years ago, and the purpose of this 2-day engagement was to ask 2 questions: First, How Did I Get Here? And second, Where Do I Want To Go?. During the 2 day engagement, we spent a lot of time in evaluation and then used that information to create a pathway forward into my next season of life and leadership.
I'm living the results of this LifePlan now!
If I can help you with some evaluation, reach out to me HERE.
Here are 3 more great quotes from Steve Jobs:
"Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice." Steve Jobs
"Your time is limited so don't waste it living someone else's life.” Steve Jobs
"Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.” Steve Jobs