Why values, not circumstances, should drive how we show up
For this week’s Marketing Minute, Hugh Miller shared an article from one of his managers about how people respond to what’s going on around them. It splits people into two groups: reactive and proactive. Reactive people rise and fall with their surroundings. When the weather is good they feel good, and when it isn’t, their attitude and performance drop with it.
Proactive people, as Hugh put it, carry their own weather with them. Rain or shine, they stay steady, because they are guided by values rather than feelings, conditions or circumstances. They have thought about these values, chosen them on purpose and made them their own. When those values produce good results, it doesn’t matter whether the outside conditions were favorable.
That doesn’t mean proactive people are immune to the world around them. Physical, social and psychological pressures still affect them. The difference is in the response: whether they’re aware of it or not, they choose how to react based on their values. For business owners facing slow seasons, tough markets or a bad week, the message was clear. We can’t control the forecast, but we can control what we bring into the room. Be guided accordingly.
Today’s Marketing Minute is brought to you by Hugh Miller with New York Life Insurance Company.
Image by Mizuno K.