{"id":13389,"date":"2021-12-14T08:47:59","date_gmt":"2021-12-14T13:47:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alifeofproductivity.com\/?p=13389"},"modified":"2022-09-06T20:04:41","modified_gmt":"2022-09-06T20:04:41","slug":"my-6-guiding-principles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/my-6-guiding-principles\/","title":{"rendered":"My 6 guiding principles"},"content":{"rendered":"

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<\/span>Takeaway:<\/strong>\u00a0You probably have guiding principles, whether you realize it or not. Capturing them can help you make better decisions. If you\u2019re curious, mine are listed below!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Estimated Reading Time:<\/strong>\u00a01 minute, 52s.<\/div><\/div><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A\u00a0work strategy group I\u2019m part of\u00a0recently\u00a0had a curious meeting topic: what core principles guide our actions?\u00a0On\u00a0first reflection, I\u00a0honestly\u00a0didn\u2019t think I had any. I don\u2019t live by some creed or\u00a0code,\u00a0I mostly just try to make decisions that feel like the right ones. But when I sat down with a notepad, to my surprise, six principles almost immediately came to mind\u2014ideas that guide my decisions and actions in work and in life. The whole activity took just a couple of minutes.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019d wager a guess that you\u2019re the same way.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0We rarely\u00a0take the time to\u00a0capture these guiding\u00a0principles\u2014even though\u00a0recognizing\u00a0them\u00a0can\u00a0help\u00a0steer\u00a0our actions, lead us to better decisions, and\u00a0let\u00a0us live more in alignment with who we are.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re curious, here are my six:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Don\u2019t do anything unless I\u2019m going to do it right.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Only associate with nice people\u2014and be kind to others in turn. (As a rule, I refuse to work with people who are unkind, even if doing so costs me money or work. Life\u2019s too short to work with toxic people, particularly when\u00a0given the choice.)<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Try\u00a0to uncover\u00a0my weaknesses\u2014especially ones that exist in my blind spots\u2014then either fix or compensate for them.<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Trust in karma. (People talk and actions matter.)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. Surround myself with people who talk about ideas\u2014not events or people.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  6. Remember that happiness is nothing more than coming to terms with how things change. Remind myself of this every day through meditation.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Writing\u00a0out\u00a0these core principles\u2014most of which have been deep in my mind for quite some time\u2014got me reflecting on how helpful\u00a0these\u00a0principles\u00a0are\u00a0in practice. They\u2019re\u00a0true to who I am and\u00a0each\u00a0lead me to feel good about how I\u2019m\u00a0spending\u00a0my time. I\u2019m sure\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0more I haven\u2019t\u00a0realized\u00a0yet.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    If you had\u00a0the time\u00a0to read this article, you probably also have a few minutes to capture your own list of principles. Grab a pen and a sheet of paper and\u00a0write down\u00a0what comes to mind, paying special attention to ideas that have helped guide you in the past.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    You may be surprised by how quickly they come to mind.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n\t\t\t\t\t
    (If you do end up creating a guiding principles list, I\u2019d love to read them!\u00a0S<\/span>hoot me a quick email<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u2014I might even steal one or two for myself.)<\/div><\/div>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column]
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    \n\t\t[\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Principles to plot your personal and professional journey. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":218805,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"[box type=tick]<\/span>Takeaway:<\/strong>\u00a0You probably have guiding principles, whether you realize it or not. Capturing them can help you make better decisions. If you\u2019re curious, mine are listed below!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nEstimated Reading Time:<\/strong>\u00a01 minute, 52s.[\/box]<\/span>\r\n\r\n\"\"\r\n\r\nA\u00a0work strategy group I\u2019m part of\u00a0recently\u00a0had a curious meeting topic: what core principles guide our actions?\u00a0On\u00a0first reflection, I\u00a0honestly\u00a0didn\u2019t think I had any. I don\u2019t live by some creed or\u00a0code,\u00a0I mostly just try to make decisions that feel like the right ones. But when I sat down with a notepad, to my surprise, six principles almost immediately came to mind\u2014ideas that guide my decisions and actions in work and in life. The whole activity took just a couple of minutes.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nI\u2019d wager a guess that you\u2019re the same way.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0We rarely\u00a0take the time to\u00a0capture these guiding\u00a0principles\u2014even though\u00a0recognizing\u00a0them\u00a0can\u00a0help\u00a0steer\u00a0our actions, lead us to better decisions, and\u00a0let\u00a0us live more in alignment with who we are.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nIf you\u2019re curious, here are my six:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n

      \r\n \t
    1. Don\u2019t do anything unless I\u2019m going to do it right.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
    2. Only associate with nice people\u2014and be kind to others in turn. (As a rule, I refuse to work with people who are unkind, even if doing so costs me money or work. Life\u2019s too short to work with toxic people, particularly when\u00a0given the choice.)<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
    3. Try\u00a0to uncover\u00a0my weaknesses\u2014especially ones that exist in my blind spots\u2014then either fix or compensate for them.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
    4. Trust in karma. (People talk and actions matter.)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
    5. Surround myself with people who talk about ideas\u2014not events or people.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
    6. Remember that happiness is nothing more than coming to terms with how things change. Remind myself of this every day through meditation.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nWriting\u00a0out\u00a0these core principles\u2014most of which have been deep in my mind for quite some time\u2014got me reflecting on how helpful\u00a0these\u00a0principles\u00a0are\u00a0in practice. They\u2019re\u00a0true to who I am and\u00a0each\u00a0lead me to feel good about how I\u2019m\u00a0spending\u00a0my time. I\u2019m sure\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0more I haven\u2019t\u00a0realized\u00a0yet.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nIf you had\u00a0the time\u00a0to read this article, you probably also have a few minutes to capture your own list of principles. Grab a pen and a sheet of paper and\u00a0write down\u00a0what comes to mind, paying special attention to ideas that have helped guide you in the past.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nYou may be surprised by how quickly they come to mind.<\/span>\r\n\r\n[box type=\"info\"](If you do end up creating a guiding principles list, I\u2019d love to read them!\u00a0S<\/span>hoot me a quick email<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u2014I might even steal one or two for myself.)[\/box]","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nMy 6 guiding principles - Chris Bailey<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/my-6-guiding-principles\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"My 6 guiding principles - Chris Bailey\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Principles to plot your personal and professional journey.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/my-6-guiding-principles\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Chris Bailey\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-12-14T13:47:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-09-06T20:04:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/iStock-1250210683-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1620\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chris Bailey\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/chris_bailey\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@chris_bailey\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/my-6-guiding-principles\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/my-6-guiding-principles\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Chris Bailey\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/#\/schema\/person\/52e99dd14925b1bfe8c1034b8d40ed70\"},\"headline\":\"My 6 guiding principles\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-12-14T13:47:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-09-06T20:04:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/my-6-guiding-principles\/\"},\"wordCount\":499,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/#\/schema\/person\/52e99dd14925b1bfe8c1034b8d40ed70\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/my-6-guiding-principles\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/iStock-1250210683-2.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Focus\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/my-6-guiding-principles\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/my-6-guiding-principles\/\",\"name\":\"My 6 guiding principles - 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