You know what really sucks? Working for a company that drains the life out of you everyday.

 

But, how do you change that?

 

You must become the change you seek. In order to be the change you seek, you must stop being a follower and start being a leader. And who are you leading? Yourself.

 

‘But how do I do that?’

 

Something I’ve been learning recently might help you.

 

In, “Boundaries for Leaders,” Dr. Henry Cloud says that any leader of a results producing organization will have defined boundaries in certain areas. So, what are these boundaries? Well, brain scientists have termed these three boundaries as “executive functions”. “Executive Functions are what is needed to achieve any purposeful activity…” There are three essential processes.

 

1. “Attention: the ability to focus on relevant stimuli and block out what is not relevant…pay attention”
2. “Inhibition: The ability to not do certain actions…don’t do that.”
3. “Working memory: The ability to access and retain relevant information for reasoning, decisions making, and taking future actions…remember and build on relevant information.”

 

So, how can you use these to lead yourself?

 

Attention: do you know what is the most important thing in your job description? If not, clarify it. This goes for your role in your family as well, and any other sphere of life you live in. Once it’s clarified, block out the things that are not relevant to your key results area. If you’re part of a bad culture that doesn’t get things done, then be the change you seek by paying attention to your relevant stimuli, that is, what are you being paid to do primarily? Focus on doing that.

 

Inhibition: Once you know what your main thing is, weed out distractions or non-relevant activities. Entrepreneurs, try delegating some of your tasks to others (but know how to properly delegate, otherwise your team member will fail and you’ll go back to doing what you’ve always done because “if I want it done right, I have to do it myself”).

 

Working memory: Do you have all the necessary components of information to start doing what you’re supposed to be paying attention to? If not, clarify it. Seek out information, books, YouTube, Podcasts, there’s an endless stream of information available to you now in the digital age. But remember, not all information is created equal and this calls for wisdom to discern what is good and bad.

 

Question: how are you going to use the process of “attention” to start winning in your family, work, or other sphere of life?