Sometimes it can seem daunting to exchange one attitude or behavior for a better one. However, if you focus on what you can do one day at a time, after enough days the new attitude or behavior will be firmly entrenched. Here are 30 suggestions to get you started. Feel free to adopt any or all of these and some of your own:
- Encourage someone.
- Treat everyone you meet with dignity and respect.
- Complete an action step for one of your goals.
- Listen more than you talk.
- Ask better questions.
- Focus on your strengths.
- Look for the good in people.
- Help people be right.
- Keep people informed.
- Avoid email “gun battles.”
- Avoid getting angry.
- Help someone feel important or special.
- Send someone a hand-written note or letter.
- Read 10 pages of a personal improvement book.
- Spend quality time with a family member and/or colleague.
- Start a new project.
- Complete an unfinished project.
- Catch people doing things right (or almost right).
- Avoid using personal attacks, sarcasm, or innuendos when disciplining someone.
- Delegate something that the other person can do better, faster, at less cost, or to provide a training opportunity.
- Avoid interrupting people or finishing their sentences.
- Perform an act of kindness for a customer or colleague.
- Ask the magic question, “What do you think?”
- Try to learn something from everyone you meet.
- Learn something new about one of your team members.
- Make the magic statement, “Tell me about it” when someone is upset or is presenting a problem.
- Look at how things can be done instead of why they can’t be done.
- Not say anything about anyone that you wouldn’t say to his or her face.
- Show appreciation to someone.
- Communicate more than you think is necessary and, in most cases, it will probably be just right.