 As
March 21st approaches, many people get in gear for “spring
cleaning.” While physically cleaning your house or
office is always a good idea, I suggest you also make time
this season for cleaning up your actions and behaviors.
Start developing new good habits on etiquette today and
by summer you will have changed how you do things and act
toward others forever.
"Watch
your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words;
they become actions.
Watch your actions;
they be come habits.
Watch your habits;
they become character.
Watch your character;
it becomes your
DESTINY."
-
Start
today. Studies have shown that
you must practice new skills for 21 days to develop a
new pattern. It will
take about 100 days for a new pattern to become an
automatic habit.
- Choose
your changes. Pick two or three
etiquette adjustments you want to master during this
Spring Cleaning period.
If you need ideas, review the past “Etiquette Tip
of the Month” articles sent over these past two years
or dedicate some time to read one of the hundreds of self-help,
personal, or professional development books you’ve
collected for years. Make a decision to change an action
or behavior, establish a new way of performing a task,
or complete something you’ve always meant to do but
never quite put into practice.
NOTE: By June 2005, the first 24 “Etiquette Tip of
the Month” issues will be removed from the site for
re-release in booklet form. Details to follow soon.
- Make
a list. Writing down your Spring
Cleaning goals will reinforce your decision. Find creative
ways to remind
yourself of what you’ve pledged to work on for the
next three months: Keep the list visible on your desk,
on the refrigerator, or on your bulletin board as a constant
guide. Write your goals on sticky notes and place the notes
on your April and May calendars. Code your computer calendar
to remind you of your Spring Cleaning commitments on various
days for the next 12 weeks.
- Do
it. Once you’ve identified your
Spring Cleaning goals, put new skills into action immediately
in order
to better your chances of making a permanent change in
your behavior. Studies indicate that 66% of a message is
forgotten in 24 hours and that it takes 8 days of constant
reminding for 99% of a message to be retained in 30 days.
-
Think
positive. It is easy to slip away
from new habits. As Sir Walter Scott said so accurately, “Success
or failure is caused more by mental attitude than by mental
capacity.” So, please consider this:
Change your attitude!
When you change your attitude,
You change your behavior;
When you change your behavior,
You change your performance;
When you change your performance,
You change your life!
By Walter Doyle Staples
Performance: Your Guide to Personal & Professional Excellence
- Make
a new model. We all need to eliminate
trash lying around. Whether your goal is better managing
physical paperwork
or wiping out mental “head trash,” Spring Cleaning
will clear a path to success. Every etiquette adjustment
you make will have a positive impact on your life.
The art of changing yourself requires the
substituting of new habits for old. You mold your character
and your future
by your thoughts and acts. You cannot climb uphill by
thinking downhill thoughts. You must change your mind to
change your
world. Make yourself do what needs to be done. Man alone,
of all the creatures of the earth, is the architect of
his destiny.
By Wilferd A. Peterson
The Art of Living
Happy Spring Cleaning!
P.S. I confess! This article
was written as one of my own Spring Cleaning choices.
I have already begun
to accomplish my three Spring Cleaning goals: 1) Clearing
my desk all the dangling projects I’ve been meaning
to do for some months (including getting all these great
quotes out to you). 2) Putting into my schedule valuable
reading time in order to hone my knowledge of etiquette and
protocol. 3) Finishing a book I began over two years ago,
titled “Etiquette Illustrated: A Step-by-Step
Guide to Business Dining.”
Now that the book is nearly
finished, it has been suggested one way to test market
whether my book will sell is to poll
people, including family, friends, and in this case my
readership. I’d appreciate your response to the
following question:
QUESTION:
If Etiquette Illustrated: A Step-by-Step Guide to Business
Dining
were published at a price you felt was reasonable, would
you purchase a copy?
Please respond to: www.AdvancedEtiquette.com/booksurvey
To
view our past Etiquette Tips of the Month, please choose a
topic below:
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