You can be the sheep or the shepherd. Choose wisely.
Continuing in the series of “Bad Habits to Break” (last week we featured Bad Habit #2: Stop consuming so many negative information sources), we bring to your attention a third habit you’ll want to quit this year:
Bad Habit to Break #3: Stop Following the Herd
The U.S. postal service warns us every year how early we need to have holiday cards in the mail to ensure they reach their recipients in time. The reason, of course, is the incredible volume of mail the USPS handles during the holiday season. Almost everyone sends holiday cards at the same time. They arrive in huge batches, mixed in with the junk mail, and in many cases are treated the same way.
You might truly enjoy sending holiday cards. It’s a nice gesture. However, because you send your cards with the herd, they probably have a limited impact. But what if you sent a card out of the blue to each of the people in your database outside of the usual torrent of holiday cards? Wouldn’t it have a greater impact?
This is just one example. If you look at your life, there are probably lots of “follow the herd” moments which A) don’t fit well with your schedule, and B) aren’t as effective as you may hope. You should consider cutting these out or repurposing them for greater effect.
Once you open your eyes to the number of “follow the herd” moments in your daily life, you can begin making decisions which will differentiate and endear you to contacts. Get outside the norm, reclaim your calendar, and make a greater impact!
(Photo credit: the bbp)
