You come home late at night from picking your son up from practice. You have not accomplished all of your goals for the day. Chronologically, it has been one time crunch after another that has forced you to put your goals aside for the day. You walk into your house and see that there are pots and pans in the sink and that the dryer is full of clean and dry clothes, that now happens to be wrinkled and in desperate need of ironing. How do you feel?
Me, I used to think that I got angry. One more set of tasks that are going to pull me away from my goals. Actually, angry is the wrong term. Instead, I was feeling sorry for myself. Why? Because something that is not on my list or goals for the day needs my attention. There is something that needs to be done, I do not want to do what needs to be done, and now I have to make a decision. That decision that I want to make is wrong and the decision that I do not want to make is right. Now, what do you do? Remember – Everyday is an Interview.
I may be mad at my family, but I do not know the context that led to the pots and pans in the sink. The laundry in the dryer is on me. I do the laundry in the house. I got caught up in other things and I forgot that the dryer was on. I was not there to fold the clothes when they were ready.
When I am not sure of how to act, I usually rely on my purpose, which is to help others get better. This could be taken in different ways. Because of this, it is important to look at the situation from different perspectives. If this was an interview question, what would I want the interviewee to do? I would want him to turn on the dryer for a few minutes to get rid of the wrinkles and fold the laundry. While they were waiting for the dryer to finish, I would want them to clean up the sink. Then I would want the candidate to prioritize their surroundings and decide which of his goals for the day could get done today and what could be accomplished tomorrow.
No one wants to be the guy who “could” have risen up and done the right thing. I have heard people tell me that they could have done this and they could have done that. I used to be one of them. I remove these people from my surroundings until they can get the right focus and perspective. I do not hire those who could have been excellent. Besides, I surround myself with people who may not be excellent yet, but they really want to be, and you can see it in their actions.
In the situation above, would you pass the interview? If yes, what did you do to stop feeling sorry for yourself? Every day is an Interview.
Everyday is an Interview 