It?s hard sometimes to look at yourself critically with an unbiased opinion to see who you really are; strengths and pitfalls included. However, it?s very important to try to reflect and review who we are and strive to improve ourselves in any way that we can. That is how we grow and how we help others grow.

There are two basic areas you can analyze about yourself: personal and professional. There are a few ways to help with honest and productive self-reflection that will make sure you can not only learn greatly about yourself but also grow as an individual.

Your personal life is the hardest to analyze because a lot of your traits aren?t necessarily even conscious, they are ingrained in you from your childhood, environment and experiences. The best way to analyze your personal life is to open up and talk to your loved ones. Ask people in your life to give you constructive criticism on the good and bad traits that you have so you can take it and work with it. The people in your life that you trust implicitly and you believe can be completely honest with you are the best to help you with this process. Oh yes, I know we all don?t want to hear about the things we can work on but trust me, hearing it from another point of view will help you grow.

How Does This Affect My Business And Leadership?

Finding out what works for you will help you build and balance out your team. For example, if I know I am horrible at time management, I will hire an assistant with a strong time management background to help me stay on track.

Creating a successful team is so important and being able to be honest with yourself will help you create results. It doesn?t stop there considering that you and your team are constantly growing and constantly changing. A great way to assess your development is to pull up old work, not only see how far you have come in developing your skills and also to identify the things that have remained stagnant and could still use improvement.

Look at other successful people in your industry and how they got where they are now. Doing this will help you to put things in perspective. ? As you are watching them, ask yourself, ?How can I learn from their experience while making sure I still set myself apart??? Are you doing or can you do what they are doing to be successful? Push yourself!

Being a leader means you have to act like a leader. You are an example to your team and showing them how you acknowledge your strengths and weaknesses will allow them to feel comfortable enough for them to do the same thing. Teaching them that you reflect and learn will in turn, teach them to do the same thing.

Reflecting often is a very important thing to do in order to move forward. Knowledge is one of the most powerful things in life and the more we know about ourselves and where we want to go, the easier it is to see our path and what we need to do to get there.

As an entrepreneur, I personally have met a lot of other home based business owners who work hard and are really motivated at the start of their business. But along the way, they met tough challenges and lose motivation and their business gets put on the back burner.

There are times that they want to give up and just walk away.? Do you know why? Lack of motivation!? It is one of the most common problems that people experience when running a business.

Lack of motivation will definitely hit at some point or another but you have to decide to push through it.? When this happens, you have to face it head on and make a decision on where you choose to go. Fortunately I have learned and worked through this, time and time again. Let me share some of my tips to help you push through the lack of motivation!

Set Achievable Goals

It is a common problem with most entrepreneurs to set unrealistically high goals at the start of their business and then when they don?t hit a goal, automatically get discouraged and want to quit.? You could always say I want to make $100,000 in my first month of business, but if you are going at a snail?s pace or if you aren?t working it, be honest with yourself and don?t set yourself up for failure.

Creating a goal that works for you by taking in all factors with time, family life, work and what you can give will help you to realize what you can do and what you can achieve.

Remember Your Why

You started your business for a reason. Maybe you wanted to help people, maybe you wanted more freedom, maybe you wanted to teach others but no matter what your reason is, you have one and that is what you need to focus on.

Remembering my why, my reason for wanting to help others be successful and build their own business usually gets me back on track.? You should write your why down and put it on your computer or your fridge, it will help you bring it back to focus when you are thinking about it the least. It could even be beneficial to set an alarm clock in your phone so you can get that alert to remind you of what you want to create for others.

Listen or Read Motivational Books

I could give a list a mile long.? There are so many, but start listening to some and then re-listen to the ones that get your juices flowing.? My favorites include Beach Money and anything John Maxwell or Zig Ziglar.

Organize Your Workspace

If your desk is a mess you are too.? Take some time to organize your work environment so that you can focus on what needs to be done.

Make Lists

Sometimes things can get overwhelming so giving up is easier.? Make lists and priorities things.? Being able to check things off of a list can do wonders for your sense of accomplishment, which can help your level of motivation.

Relax And Unwind

Oh yes, this is opposite of what everyone else will tell you but sometimes you put yourself in overdrive and you are running yourself into the ground.? How effective can you be at motivating yourself and your team if you are drained? Not very effective at all.? Sometimes you just need to take 24 or 48 hours to allow yourself to just be and imagine how refreshed and replenished you will be when you come back from a no work break?? I bet you?ll feel pretty awesome and less stressed!

 

 

 

 

It took me years before I found my passion.? I knew I liked to help people and I had worked most of my life in customer service and it seemed to be a good fit, but I disliked having a boss.? I found my niche in direct sales and I am able to help people every day and the only person I report to is me and my team of course.? They are my passion.? They are why I do what I do.

Are you stuck in a job that you dread going to every morning? If you have faint memories of having more good days than bad ones, of finding fulfillment in what you do, then you?ve got to find your passion. Finding the thing that fills your soul takes some work, but anyone can do it.

Don?t Quit Your Day Job

This idiom is usually used when someone is bad at doing something, but it applies to the process of finding your passion as well. Realistically, we all have bills to pay and living expenses. If you have a job that allows you to cover those, you should continue working that job while you lay the groundwork for pursuing your passion. If your job has you working so many hours that finding free time would be about as simple as finding a real, live unicorn, then your first step to finding your passion may be to find a different job. You could also try to reduce your responsibilities at work. This is assuming that you find it impossible to become passionate about your current job.

Mysterious Passion

If you have absolutely no idea what your passion might be, but you know you?re just not happy with the way things are going, fear not. Take some creative methods to find the thing that speaks to your heart, then you know where to focus your energy.

• Ask others, especially people who knew you when you were young. Your parents, long time friends, or siblings may all remember something you were really good at or that you truly loved doing. They have a unique perspective to offer. Just ask.
• Consider your fears. Make a list of all the things you?re afraid of doing or of failing in doing. Some of the things we want the most for ourselves are the most terrifying.
• Listen. Have people been telling you all your life that you?re really good at [something] or that you should definitely become a [whatever]? If you?ve always been uncomfortable accepting a compliment on something you excel at, it?s possible you already know what your passion is and you just haven?t been listening.
• Who do you admire? Comparing the careers and characteristics of people you know and admire can be the key to finding your passion.
• Utilize social media, but not the way you?re thinking. Are you someone who reacts very strongly to certain subjects that your friends post about on social media? If there is one certain topic you encounter in social media posts that brings up a strong response in you, it warrants more investigation.

Follow Your Passion

Millennials, in particular, are chasing careers that make an impact and give meaning to work. You may hear people say that following your passion is ridiculous advice and no one should do it, but they really mean sometimes people are passionate about things that don?t earn them lots of money and you shouldn?t do that. Whether you can make a good living doing what you love depends less on you and more on whether anyone will give you money to do that thing.

Author Cal Newport talks about the ?passion trap.? It refers to feeling increasingly unhappy in your current position because you are focused on searching for something better. It could be why the youngest workers are the least happy in their jobs. By far the best way to follow your passion is to focus your energy on honing your skills, learning more, and practicing. You must be present to feel your passion for whatever you do.