Living Right or Just Looking Good?

Episode 107

Living Right or Just Looking Good? 

Click To Receive Your Busting Fear: Jumping out of Limbo Land PDF Download!

Recently we had the chance to travel to a warm destination.  It was awesome! 

When we walked into the condo where we’d spend a week, we were amazed!  It was beautiful, open, and spacious, with an awesome view!

But then……as we moved through our normal living activities we found that there had been little focus on functionality in the space.

There were only a couple of small drawers in our bedroom and no room for a suitcase, making it impossible to have organized access to our clothes.  The bathroom had no place to hang towels or tuck away toiletries. Furniture in the living space looked nice but was not comfortable…….

And the list goes on……

The space was definitely designed for presentation over practicality.

Now….I certainly did not let ANYof this spoil our time away!

But….it got me thinking about a number of clients I’ve worked with and…just people I’ve run across through life, who put that same emphasis on looking good over actually living right.

A life filled with fabrication and dysfunction over real fruit.

Zig Ziglar, a popular motivational speaker, said, “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.”

Talking about what you’ll do or, worse, pretending to do what you’ve said is NOT the same as taking real action and never will be. 

Don’t let fear stop you from real action. 

Zig also said, “With integrity, you have nothing to fear, since you have nothing to hide.”

And he’s right!  Fear can stop you from action but then you may have to live with the new fear of hiding what is true.

Working to make things look a certain way over actually making it so through work is exhausting and a waste of effort!  Trying to track words you’ve said without truth, failing to follow through on commitments.  Fear, hiding, and guilt that accompany all of these will steal your focus.

Getting others to believe things are different does not make it so!  And lies you tell yourself can keep you stuck in what you desire to change.

My clients leave each coaching session with a list of action items they’ve committed to take that will move them towards their desired goals. As we review the list from a previous week I must rely on self-reporting.  Did they do what they promised?

Most of the time my clients are honest, but, at times, it quickly becomes clear that they are working to impress me with fabricated success over what they’ve really achieved. And I have to call them out. 

The end goal can’t be about impressing me for a moment. I’m not going to judge or push for any agenda that is mine.  Faking forward momentum doesn’t affect me.

And fabricated looks don’t last.

So, ask yourself, do you want to create impact for the long haul or just look good for a moment or two?

Living and leading for impact requires integrity…..So, be real with yourself and others.

Make sure your words and commitments match actions.  And, where they don’t, clean it up!

Some Simple Little Things to Ponder from What I Shared Today:

1. Be real.  Pretending to be something that you are not does not move you closer to who you want to be, but real change does!
2. You only achieve what you actually achieve, not what you or others believe you achieve.
3. Lying zaps energy and shifts focus. Why live in a way that ignites fear, worry, overwhelm, confusion and more lies?
4. Getting others to believe your lies does not prove bad things about them, but it does say a lot about you. 

What are you really working towards?  Do you want things to LOOKa certain way or would you prefer them to BE a certain way?

Integrity is a key foundation to living and leading for impact.  End of story.

Fear can sometimes limit integrity.  I’ve got a free download to help you bust your fear.   You’ll find it on the show notes page for this podcast.

Click To Receive Your Busting Fear: Jumping out of Limbo Land PDF Download!