Step Away from the Mirror: 8 Tasks That will Improve You and Your Business

Today is not about you.

Oh, it could be, but it shouldn’t be.

Do yourself a favor today, and don’t look in the mirror. You see, once you look in the mirror, you generally have one of two reactions: you either like what you see or hate what you see. And that takes you further down a path you don’t need to travel.

Whether you like what you see, or don’t like what you see, both are dangerous.

Dang, I look good.

Wait, where did those wrinkles come from?

Is that a gray hair I see?

Boy, the ladies sure are gonna love me.

I’m too fat, too thin, too old, too this, too that.

We are a self-absorbed, self-obsessed people. It permeates our culture, and therefore permeates our businesses.

The more time we spend looking in the mirror, the less time we spend looking around us and at others. That’s not healthy.

So today, no mirror. In fact, step away from anything that makes you think about yourself, and try to focus on others. When you finish here I want you to go to one of your social accounts, take a few minutes and think about others. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Celebrate – Go to Facebook and look up in the upper right hand corner of your newsfeed where the birthdays are listed. Wish one or all of the people listed a “Happy Birthday”.

2. Comment – Reach out and post something on someone’s Facebook wall or comment on their blog. Nicely. I know I get a smile on my face when I get that email telling me I have a comment, or see someone has written on my wall.

3. Share – Find something you like on Facebook and share it. Retweet something you like on Twitter. Repin something on Pinterest.

4. Respond – Respond to the @ replies you get on Twitter, the comments on your blog, and the comments on your Facebook page. This lets people know you’re listening and care.

5. Thank – If someone shares your content on any of these platforms, offer them your gratitude. A simple “Thank you” will do.

6. Personalize – when you chat with someone on Twitter or Facebook, use their first name.

7. Recommend – Write a recommendation for someone on LinkedIn or write a review of a local business on Facebook, Yelp, or Google places. Even sharing someone’s business page on Facebook is a recommendation of sorts.

8. Encourage – Send a private message to someone encouraging them, via DM, email, or Facebook message. It’s one thing to do this publicly, but if we do it privately, it’s more about them, and less about us getting attention for being nice.

When you’ve done some of those things, hit the repeat button. Try doing this every day for a week. See if it changes your outlook. It might seem forced at first, but eventually it will become a part of your normal routine. In fact, why not write this on a sticky note or print it out and cut it out and put it by your computer:

• Celebrate
• Comment
• Share
• Respond
• Thank
• Personalize
• Recommend
• Encourage

And then, take it offline. As you deal with customers, clients, vendors, and anyone else around you, try to get in the habit of doing these things and putting others first.

It’s the little things like this that bring about change in you, and might just help change and improve the culture in your business.

That’s your homework assignment for the week, folks. Get to it!

What other tips do you have for putting others first, while not focusing so much on yourself?