There are many ways to do fine work. Some people take the following approach in both pleasurable and pressure situations. They aim to be positive, follow their principles and do their professional best.
Different people do this in different situations. They may be working in Accident & Emergency, playing sport at a high level or doing certain kinds of challenging activities.
Some people feel fully alive when working in what others see as pressure situations. Moving into action, they use their antennae to keep reading the situation and applying their abilities to achieve positive results.
They may feel comfortable in certain kinds of pressure situations, however, but not in others. One person expressed this in the following way.
“I feel alive and in control when doing certain kinds of work. It helps me to keep growing as a person and as a professional.”
Some people also follow this approach when there may be big prizes at stake. They then focus on doing their professional best rather than worrying about their prize.
Such people recognise they only have so much energy. So they use this to be positive, follow their principles and do their professional best. Paradoxically, this can sometimes lead to getting prizes.
Different people follow this approach in different ways. Let’s explore how they may follow it in different situations.
They Aim To Be Positive
Such people choose to have a positive attitude. They focus on the possibilities and opportunities. They then aim to do their best in the situation.
They take this positive approach rather than worry about what some would see as pressures. When asked if they worry, they may then give the well-known response.
“Will it help if I worry? Probably not. So I aim to do my best when doing positive things and also when tackling potential challenges.”
They play to their strengths and set positive goals. Bearing in mind what they can control, they clarify the real results to achieve. They then translate these into a clear picture of success. This leads to the next step.
They Aim To
Follow Their Principles
Such people clarify the principles they want to follow to work towards achieving the goals. Different people may follow different principles in different situations. Here are some that some people mention.
Principles – The principles that I
want to follow in my life or work are:
To build on my strengths … To always do my best … To encourage people … To follow strategies that work … To deliver high professional standards … To focus on continuous improvement … To do work that helps people or the planet.
They then focus on how they can follow their principles in a specific situation. This sometimes lead to the next step.
They Aim To Do
Their Professional Best
Such people aim to do their professional best in the situation. Different people may do this in different situations.
They may focus on doing their
professional best when they are aiming:
To counsel a troubled person … To manage a specific crisis … To perform in a sporting event … To mediate in a conflict situation … To perform a critical medical operation … To defuse a bomb … To tackle a daunting challenge.
They prepare properly. Moving into action, they are fully present and follow their chosen principles. They then do their professional best to achieve the picture of success.
Some people define this as doing their professional best rather than simply their personal best. One person expressed the reason for this in the following way.
“I often switch into professional role in certain situations and move into another dimension. I become alive, alert and use my antennae to focus fully on the task in hand.
“I tend to forget myself and, whilst still trying to be a compassionate person, clarify what needs to be done. I then do my professional best to achieve the picture of success.”
There are many ways to manage both pleasurable and pressure situations. One approach is to say that the only pressure is: a) to be positive; b) to follow your principles; c) to do your professional best.
Let’s return to your own life and work. Looking ahead, can you think of a situation where you may want to follow elements of this approach? How can you do this in your own way?
If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to complete the following sentences.
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