Early in my career, a married mom of two teenagers sat in front of me
and cried. Her family had told her they would support her new career
as long as nothing at home changed. Meals, carpooling, anything that
touched their world couldn’t be disrupted. She had agreed, only to
discover later how bad a deal she’d cut. As I listened, I suddenly
realized I was hearing about a productivity thief almost everyone
overlooks.
Your environment must support your goals.
Your environment is simply who you see and what you
experience every day. The people are familiar, the places
comfortable. You trust these elements of your environment and quite
possibly even take them for granted. But be aware. Anyone and
anything at any time can become a thief, diverting your attention
away from your most important work and stealing your productivity
right from under your nose. For you to achieve extraordinary results,
the people surrounding you and your physical surroundings must
support your goals.
No one lives or works in isolation. Every day, throughout your
day, you come in contact with others and are influenced by them.
Unquestionably, these individuals impact your attitude, your health—
and ultimately, your performance.
The people around you may be more important than you think.
It’s a fact that you’re likely to pick up some of the attitudes of others
by working with them, socializing with them, or simply being around
them. From co-workers to friends to family, if they’re generally not
positive or fulfilled on the job or away from it, they’ll probably pass
on some of their negativity. Attitude is contagious; it spreads easily.
As strong as you think you are, no one is strong enough to avoid the
influence of negativity forever. So, surrounding yourself with the
right people is the right thing to do. While attitude thieves will rob
you of energy, effort, and resolve, supportive people will do what they
can to encourage or assist you. Ultimately, being with success-minded
coco
(coco)
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