1/23/21
In a Harvard Business Review
Clayton M. Christensen said, "Management is the most noble of professions
if it’s practiced well. No other occupation offers as many ways to help others
learn and grow, take responsibility and be recognized for achievement, and contribute
to the success of a team." He was talking about the first of his three
life questions. "How can I be sure that I’ll be happy in my
career?" To be happy in your career, good management needs to be involved
whether you are in that role or not. If you are not appreciated and encouraged
in your position you should look for another because that will make for a
miserable career. Being unhappy in your career can and most likely will trinkle
into the rest of your life.
Christensen's next question is,
"How can I be sure that my relationships with my spouse and my family
become an enduring source of happiness?" He later goes on to say you can
do so by keeping the purpose of your live front and center as you decided how
to spend your time, talents, and energy. Having a clear purpose is an important
part of living a fulfilled life. In the book I recently read Personality Isn't
Permanent by Benjamin Hardy, PHD he talks about knowing who you want to become
and working toward being that person, that many people don’t spend enough time
thinking about how they want their life to be. I think that both Christensen
and Hardy are talking about the same thing. We need to spend thinking about our
purpose and what we want to accomplish, or we will never accomplish anything. If
we don’t have clear goals and ideas about how we spend our time, then we are
essentially wasting it. And it is important to realize the fact that Christensen
states “The choice and successful pursuit of a profession is but
one tool for achieving your purpose. But without a purpose, life can become
hollow.”
The third question Christensen asks
is “How can I stay out of jail?” It seems a silly question, but it is really
about having morals and sticking to them 100% of the time. If we decide to let
our morals slide “just once” it can have far worse consequences and lead us to
slipping more. Christensen reminds us of the importance of humility and describes
one of the characteristics as having “a high level of self-esteem. They knew
who they were, and they felt good about who they were. We also decided that
humility was defined not by self-deprecating behavior or attitudes but by the
esteem with which you regard others. Good behavior flows naturally from that
kind of humility…if your attitude is that only smarter people have something to
teach you, your learning opportunities will be very limited. But if you have a
humble eagerness to learn something from everybody, your learning opportunities
will be unlimited. Generally, you can be humble only if you feel really good
about yourself—and you want to help those around you feel really good about
themselves, too.”
Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin in his address Little
Things Are Important speaking about how important the little things are stated,
“to manage the minute is the secret of success.”
He goes on to talk about the importance of our relationship with ourselves and
the care we give our bodies. If we do not care for ourselves we will be unable
to care for others. Elder Wirthlin also talks about the little thing in our
relationships with others, “Do you take the time to remember some of the simple
courtesies that are so important in relationships with others? Do you remember
the smile, the compliment, the positive comment, and the word of encouragement?
We should do these important little things without hesitation.” Lastly
he describes our relationship with our Heavenly Father. Quoting Alma “But
behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought
to pass” (Alma 37:6).
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