Begin With Truth
Start with what is right rather than what is acceptable. – Peter F. Drucker
There’s a little saying that I like to remind myself of: How You Do One Thing Is How You Do Everything.
Many may disagree, but it’s very useful for me. It reminds me that when I slack off, or do a sub-par job, it matters.
By – consciously* – doing less than I can I chipping away at my soul. I am saying to myself: “You could have done better, but you chose not to.”
This has real implications, not just in the quality of my work, but in my view of myself. When I do what’s “acceptable,” rather than what I know is “right,” I lie to myself. (And when I lie to myself, I trust myself less, and when I trust myself less, I feel bad about myself and think smaller about who I am and what I can do… )
So, in matters both external (the work you do with and for others) and internal (the thoughts you repeat and believe and the goals you set), choose what is right rather than what is (merely) “acceptable.”
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* And that’s the key… Once I become aware that I’m not doing my best, and continue, I’m out-of-integrity – and I suffer.