Thursday, May 16, 1996

Take Inventory

One of the biggest boosts you can give yourself is to take a personal inventory on a regular basis. Not an inventory of your money or material things, but an inventory of you.

Start with your past accomplishments. Look back over your life and find five or six times when you did something really well, and made a significant difference in your own life or the lives of others. Then write down the details of this experience. Perhaps it was a time when you successfully lost weight and got in shape. Or maybe it was a once-in-a-lifetime vacation that you planned and executed. Or perhaps you played a key role in the development of a new product for your company.

Next, compile a list of your skills and your expertise. These are things that you can do, or know about to a greater extent than the average person. You don’t have to be the best in the world at it -- just better than most other people you know. Look at your hobbies, the books and magazines you read, the things you enjoy at work, the things you are passionately interested in. You’ll find a whole list of things that are uniquely you.

You’ll be amazed at how this simple exercise will change your perception. Just reminding yourself of your personal assets will help you to uncover opportunities that you may never have seen otherwise. It will make you more confident, competent and resourceful. Try it and see for yourself!

— Ralph Marston

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Copyright ©1996 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. All Rights Reserved. The Daily Motivator is provided for your personal, non-commercial use only. Other than personal sharing, please do not re-distribute without permission.