Wisdom for Busy People - Five Insights Delivered Straight Up

In this space I mostly write about people skills and personal strengths - the core capabilities that make us successful in life and work.

I also love storytelling. So if you've encountered any wisdom in my blog posts, it was probably in the context of a true story.

Today, something really different. I'm honoring those of you with busy lives. I'm giving it to you straight up - no ice, no soda, no context, no cool story.

Just five insights...

• When improving a skill, your performance will get worse before it gets better. That’s because doing it the old way is easy, while you’ll make mistakes trying to do it better. Be patient and persevere while you learn from your experiences.
• After formal education, you begin a career by learning the business. If you’re really serious about being successful, work on who you are. Never stop improving your people skills and personal strengths.
• For the day when you find yourself in charge of other people, here’s one of the secrets: If possible, don’t accept losers on your team. Try to surround yourself with talented people. Arrange for the weak links to get involved in other opportunities.
• You have limited time for personal development, and working on many things at once can be confusing. The key is to decide which personal strength or people skill you need to work on most and then focus on it consistently until it becomes a habit.
• Practice self-encouragement. When bad things happen, take a day or so to let your disappointment fade into the background. Then consciously assess the positives in your situation – strengths, advantages, solutions, and opportunities.

Was this helpful? Would you like the wisdom delivered this way from time to time?

Either way, I wish you health and strength to meet the challenges of your life and work.

Post by Dennis E. Coates, Ph.D., Copyright 2011. Building Personal Strength .