Do you ever feel like you’re up to your neck as a sales professional, business owner or business executive?Up to Your Neck

Consumers demand more, suppliers demand more, employees and colleagues demand more. So does the spouse, the kids, the dog, the cat and the gerbil.

Taken from “Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff … and it’s all Small Stuff,” by Richard Carlson, Ph.D., here are just a few things to help you gain perspective:

1. Tell at least one person, every day, that you like, admire or appreciate them. You’ll soon find that making their day will make yours, too, and that you will begin looking for the good in people (rather than the bad … as society teaches).

2. Remember that you become what you practice most. By changing your habits, and what you focus on, things will change around you.

3. Resist the urge to criticize. If more people lived by the “if you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything,” think how much quieter it would be. Even peaceful.

4. Imagine yourself at your own funeral. What would the people there be saying about you? I bet it wouldn’t be “I wished he or she would have worked harder (and longer) hours.”  By living each day as though what we accomplished would be the exclamation point on our life’s story, I bet we’d all act and react differently.

5. Surrender to the fact that life isn’t fair. It’s not. But at least we’re on the top of the food chain, and not the bottom!

And finally, from the desk of John Patrick, end the day on a positive. Turn off the news and read something positive. Then jot three things down in your journal (you DO keep one, right?) that you are thankful for. And finally, give those you love (assuming they’re with you) a goodnight kiss.

Excerpt from John Patrick’s eBook entitled Sales Tips & Tools, which can be found on Amazon.