Wooden's Wisdom | Leadership Resource Center

Issue 626 - Proper Perspective (Liz Wiseman and John Wooden)


Wooden's Wisdom - Volume 12	Issue 626
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PROPER PERSPECTIVE (LIZ WISEMAN AND JOHN WOODEN) John Wooden Video Clip (1 min. 40 sec.): "Make Each Day Your Masterpiece." Perspective has been defined as: "A way of regarding situations, facts, etc., and judging their relative importance." In Stephen Covey's book "First Things First", he describes situations in four ways: Urgent and Important Important not Urgent Urgent not Important Not Urgent not Important Proper planning leads us to have less situations that are "Urgent". Proper perspective leads us to spend less time on situations that are "Not Important". The quality of our life improves when we can spend our time on situations that are "Important but not Urgent". To maintain proper perspective, we must not overreact to adverse situations. Liz Wiseman in her book, "The Multipliers", describes a great way to do that: "TURN DOWN THE VOLUME. A colleague of mine was once described as "a dog that barks at everything," meaning that she was overly reactive to potential threats and didn’t differentiate between serious attacks and passing annoyances. My research showed that people who cope best with adverse situations don’t bark at every disturbance. They’ve learned what to ignore. They don’t avoid the situation or pretend the problem doesn’t exist; they merely tune out some of the interference. They choose to turn down the volume, reducing the intrusion into their head and the situation’s consumption of their life and psychic energy." As Coach Wooden pointed out in his book Wooden, with Steve Jamison: "It's important to keep things in perspective. When they get out of perspective, it affects your ability to prepare and perform. Don’t get carried away if things are going too well or too poorly, just continue to make the effort to do the best you can at whatever you’re doing." Do you keep proper perspective? Click here for personal development exercise: Issue 626. Click here for Printable Poetry: Issue 626. Yours in Coaching, Craig Impelman www.woodenswisdom.com Follow @woodenswisdom	COACH'S FAVORITE POETRY AND PROSE Life’s Single Standard There are a thousand ways to cheat and a thousand ways to sin; There are ways uncounted to lose the game, but there's only one way to win; And whether you live by the sweat of your brow or in luxury's garb you're dressed, You shall stand at last, when your race is run, to be judged by the single test. Some men lie by the things they make; some lie in the deeds they do; And some play false for a woman's love, and some for a cheer or two; Some rise to fame by the force of skill, grow great by the might of power, Then wreck the temple they toiled to build, in a single, shameful hour. The follies outnumber the virtues good; sin lures in a thousand ways; But slow is the growth of man's character and patience must mark his days; For only those victories shall count, when the work of life is done, Which bear the stamp of an honest man, and by courage and faith were won. There are a thousand ways to fail, but only one way to win! Sham cannot cover the wrong you do nor wash out a single sin, And never shall victory come to you, whatever of skill you do, Save you've done your best in the work of life and unto your best were true. Edgar Albert Guest (1881-1959)
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