You are facing a 'situation and you ask yourself "What do I choose, what do I do?" This question presupposes you have a choice to make, and you are wondering which choice will lead to the best possible results. How do you decide?
Seth Godin says: You can't be the high ethics CEO who 'just this once' let's an accounting fraud pass 'because it is urgent'.
Or the 'looks smart, life-in-balance, available-at-all times, high-output, do-what-you-are-told employee.
Surely, the corner shop cannot be low-price, high-value, wide-selection, convenient, green, and all-in-one
Surely something will give!
What will it be? If it was you, what would you let go? Depends on what you value, right?
The song says 'stand up for something, or you will fall for anything'. That's because standing up for something means making a choice. And it also means valuing something more than something else. Sometimes that's a difficult decision to make.
What does standing up for something get you?
- Self confidence - when you don't let others tell you what you should choose, you become more and more adept at choosing for yourselves. You begin to trust your own instincts, and get better at it.
- Strong sense of self - giving in to others gradually erodes your own sense of identity. Who are you?
- Integrity - knowing you did the right thing makes you feel good about yourself. When you look in the mirror, you like what you see.
- Independence - the less you rely on others to validate you, the more you reinforce your independence.
Naturally, standing up for something means taking responsibility for it. But you are ready for that, aren't you?
What's the worst that could happen? Someone will disapprove?
I guess you have to to decide what matters more, approval ratings, or standing up for something.
