What can you change?

• We can't easily change our basic personalities.
• But we can change how we behave.
• For example, introverts don't like a lot of interaction with others, but they can find ways to spend more time with people that fits their style.
• Extraverts like to talk a lot, but they can modify this tendency by asking others more open questions to encourage them to talk more.
• Don't think about what you can't do, ask yourself what you can do.
• Here are some keys to successful personal change:
• Focus on what you can change, not what you can't.
• Motivation - there must be a stronger benefit for changing than for maintaining the status quo. What will you gain by changing?
• Little point trying to change because somebody else wants it.
• Self -management - set goals, timeframes, monitor your performance and get ongoing feedback. As they say: ''What gets measured gets done.''
• Often ''can't change'' means ''don't want to change''. Do you fully understand what is motivating you to behave as you do?
• How clear are you about the benefits to you of changing?
• What successes will you gain by changing?
• What minimal change will reap maximum benefits for you?
• If you see none, how can you re-frame your situation to create benefits of behaving differently? For example, if you find it hard to delegate, but re-frame your role as a coach or strategic thinker, you might then see benefits of delegating that weren't obvious before.