I love my car. I’ve driven the same model for years – updating to a newer version of the RX 300 vehicle when necessary. I drive a Lexus and appreciate how dependable and comfortable it is. But there’s one thing I’ve noticed about all Lexus vehicles – they have very sensitive gauges that trigger warning lights at the least little provocation. The downside of this is I’ve become accustomed to warning lights popping on and off and tend to ignore them.
A gauge is a means of estimating or judging; it’s a criterion; a way of knowing if systems are working correctly. Some gauges, if not getting a satisfactory reading, will cause everything to shut down. I’ve experienced that with a vehicle I drove years ago (before I discovered Lexus).
More common than a shut-down is the gradual slide into poor performance. You put off doing something important. Maintenance steps are overlooked because there’s not enough money, not enough time….we can get creative with excuses. Before you know it, you don’t like or trust your vehicle anymore. I’ve seen this happen to a lot of careers.
Most of us grew up measuring our success by our performance. Small children are rewarded for good behavior, school children receive grades. When we get into the career scene, raises, promotions and awards are typically considered the most common indicators of growth and success.
What happens when your performance isn’t being rewarded in the standardized ways?
Does it “count” as success?
How Do You Gauge Success?
Is it money? Recognition? Position? Authority? Personal satisfaction?
If you haven’t clarified what it looks like and feels like in your own life, you’re likely to compare the readings on your gauges with someone else. They used to call that “keeping up with the Jones’. The only person we should compete to be “better than” is the person we were yesterday.
The result of not knowing which gauges are important to you and how to keep them in the normal range is that annoyance, frustration, then resignation result.
Your gauges are connected to your core values and to your heart. If you aren’t making progress in the things that you treasure and are of great value to you, everything seems to start running rough. You get cranky. If you don’t take time to make adjustments, you begin to accept less than best as the norm. And that’s a travesty.
One way to tell if you need a tune-up is by checking your level of hope and expectation. If you are not revved on Monday morning to create something great in your week, there’s a clue. If the hours drag in your day, there’s another clue. How about your overall attitude and energy level? All of these add up to your “Expectometer” rating.
Expectometer – Ex-pect-ometer n. Internal guage connected to the performance chip in a human being that measures the level of hope and expectancy. (Source: Beverly’s Win From Within Success Dictionary)
Can you feel inspired all the time? No. But sometimes all it takes is some tweaking and fine-tuning to get you humming along. I’ve been described as a merchant of hope. I believe that refers to my calling to impart revelation which inspires vision and ignites passion, resulting in acceleration.
Are you checking the gauges that are important to your success? I have a trusty tool-box and we can get you on the road in a jiffy if you’re game.
