Dr. Kenney’s Friday 5 Spot
On Fridays I like to share experiences I’ve had during the week with patients and in my personal life that I’ve found significant. I like to share them in hopes that you might find value in them and have something resonate with you in your life.
What is your standard? A standard is a level of quality. It reflects how well you act, perform, and behave, as well as what is acceptable or not for you. A restaurant that serves poor food with poor service has a low standard. Conversely, a business that pays attention to details, takes time to hire great people, cares about how they treat customers, and provides a great product or service shows an obvious high standard.
I think it is a worthwhile exercise to ask yourself how someone would answer this question for you. Do you feel the actions you display show that you care about a high standard?
Attributes that indicate to me a person has a high standard for themselves are being humble, punctual, respectful, good at listening, willing to learn, physically fit, and able to admit when they’re wrong. Conversely, when people want more than they’re willing to give, are not concerned with how things turn out for others, are not punctual, are unwilling to admit to or correct mistakes, and are lazy; they convey a low standard. Consider all your actions and behavior and that will encompass the standard you convey to others.
Something I saw that resonated with me. I watched a YouTube video of a Marine that started his own business, grew it from nothing into a large, profitable venture and competes in various running and triathlon challenges across the country. Something he said that appealed to me was having a “let’s get one more” mindset.
This type of mindset involves going a little further in everything you do. It can be something in a physical endeavor like doing another rep, running another mile, or taking on a more challenging event. Other times it might be studying a little longer or devoting more time to a business-related matter. Sometimes it’s being dead tired and saying “yes” when your child asks if you’ll play with them at the end of a long day. The point is that you train yourself so that no matter what the issue or situation, you are willing to go just a little bit further regardless of circumstances to get a better result.
Something I’ve learned from coaching. In general, it is easy to point out when things are not working. This is especially true in sports. I’ve had many times coaching where the score has quickly gotten away from my team and things have gone exactly the opposite of what we’d expected.
What this has taught me is that identifying a problem is the easy part. The harder but more necessary aspect is coming up with solutions. For example, if we’re getting beat on deep passes, my job (and assistant coach as well) is to find something we can implement to help create a better result. Complaining about it or criticizing our players gets us nowhere, only fixing it does.
Far too often, people love to point out what’s wrong but offer nothing in the way of answers. I believe that if you’re going to complain or point out problems, you should have potential solutions to offer. To me, that is what a leader does. Coaching has driven this home for me by forcing me to figure out what isn’t working and then figure out how to change that.
Something my mentor taught me. I worked with an excellent doctor and businessman for 6 of the first 7 years of my career. He taught me a ton and I use his advice daily. I remember a day where it was mildly snowing, and our office phone was ringing consistently. About half the calls were of people cancelling appointments and the others were people scheduling. He remarked that the people canceling were ducks and the people scheduling were hawks. I asked what he meant, and he explained that in life you are either a duck or a hawk.
A duck waddles around slowly without much purpose quacking all the time. This is analogous to a person that talks a lot about nothing of importance while regularly complaining about the weather, their job, whatever. A hawk on the other hand is a proud bird, soaring high above, searching for opportunities, attacking, and controlling their destiny. This is the type of person that faces adversity, does not complain, refuses to quit, and attains the result they want no matter the circumstances.
Since my mentor told me that years ago, I constantly ask myself whether I am behaving like a duck or a hawk and strive for the latter!
Some quotes I love.
“Be consistently good rather than occasionally great.”
“Act like you can’t afford the bread until you own the bakery.”
“The true man is revealed in difficult times.” – Epictetus
“Every day, stand guard at the door of your mind.” – Jim Rohn
“What matters most is what you think about yourself when you are by yourself.” – Tom Bilyeu
“The most convincing sign that someone is truly living their best life, is their lack of desire to show the world they’re living their best life. Your best life won’t seek validation.”
Want more?
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