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Ego Fortification, Contracts II

There is a place for positive self-talk to assist with this process. Aim the inner dialogue at supporting the objective of the contract and at encouraging yourself to persist. In fact this would really help to keep the process going. And if you're using positive self-talk, this minimizes any negative self-talk you might be tempted to indulge in. Negative self-talk would be very counter-productive, and committing to positive self-talk helps to keep you aware of this aspect of the process.

In terms of using this approach to improve aspects of your attitude at work, there are several areas which might be suitable. Basically, you could use it for something like a poor attitude towards authority figures or a tendency to undermine your own efforts at work; you might have a "not OK" self-image and need to modify it.

This is actually a formidable task, but worth tackling as the negative consequences of such beliefs can severely impact your life. There are many potential stars that have persistent self-defeating patterns of behavior and undermine their own attempts at success. If this is happening to you it would definitely indicate a need for some corrective action. It might be that you are doing ok, and just want to improve in certain respects.

Perhaps you think you need to be good at everything. Being a well-rounded personality is not a prerequisite for success. Good attitudes and great strengths in particular area is better, although it helps if you can operate at a get-by level in other critical areas. .you might be a superb at finance but poor with people. You can succeed with this combination, but it would help to improve your people skills to the point where you at least do not actively create enemies every time you speak.

Similarly, build on the strengths of your subordinates. Dont put them in a position where they would need strength in an area where they are weak; ou are only setting them up for failure. if you need somebody in a position which would expose weaknesse, make him part of a team, where peoples strengths would complement each other.There have been people who were teerific and songwriting but were failures until thy paired with somebody who could take the basic lysics and make prepare them to be marketed.

For any one wanting to improve and willing to put in the necessary effort, agreeing a contract with yourself would be a good way to go about it. If you have some way to measure progress and are disciplined and persist, this approach could make a substantial difference in your life. There are people who are huge successes who have very unprepossessing starts in life; Oprah Winfrey is a case in point. I don't think any psychotherapist who was aware of the details of her upbringing would have picked her as likely to succeed. You can make a difference in your own life.


(continued from part I)