The President of the United States gave a heartfelt thanks to our federal brethren as he welcomed them back from the 16-day government shutdown. He thanked all federal workers for their service. He said, “What you do is important. It matters.” Thank you Mr. President for your public words of support.
As federal employees we know that we are essential. The work we perform day in and day out often goes unnoticed and many times unappreciated, but what we’ve learned over the past couple of weeks is that federal employees are vital and play a key role in the lives of the American people. But hopefully, we’ve also learned something else: we can’t rely on our federal salaries to always be there when we need it.
So now that the shutdown is over, what necessary financial changes will you make in your life? If a shutdown, a furlough or sequestration happens again, will you be prepared? Below are three simple steps to get you moving in the right direction.
3 Simple Steps to Changing Your Current Income
Step 1: Monitor your thoughts
“Change your thoughts and you change your world.” – Norman Vincent Peale
Thoughts are things.
Thoughts leads to feelings.
Feelings lead to actions.
Actions lead to results.
No thought lives in your head rent-free. Each thought you have will either be an asset or liability. It will either move you toward happiness and success or away from it. It will either empower you or weaken you. That’s why it’s of utmost importance to choose your thoughts wisely in your personal life as well as in your professional life.
Human behavior says you become what you think about most of the time. Your predominant thoughts largely determine what you say, how you say it and how you act. The results you get in life and especially in your career are the direct results of your thoughts.
If you believe you can be paid more then you can and will be. But if you think it will never happen, then guess what, it won’t. Throughout the day, be conscious of your self-talk. Do you talk to yourself in a gentle and loving manner or do you berate yourself every time something goes wrong?
If you truly want to get paid what you’re worth, speak to yourself in a way that conveys that you are a unique person with special talents and abilities. Your combination of education, experience, knowledge, problems, successes, and challenges make you truly remarkable. There’s no one else like you. You have great potential, you just have to believe it.
What is one limiting belief you can let go of today?
Step 2: Never Eat Alone
“You can get everything you want in life, if you just help enough other people get what they want.” – Zig Ziglar
Oftentimes, getting the job or getting the promotion comes down to building relationships. The new currency today is relationships. But you must be sincere. You must truly want to help someone get what they want and then you will be able to get what you want.
So today, look to find what you can do to help others. Start building relationships and you will see how quickly you will be able to network yourself to a new federal job opportunity.
An excellent book that shines light on this topic is Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at …. In his book, Ferrazzi’s describes his ability to connect with others and develop long-lasting relationships is based on generosity and helping friends connect with other friends.
Who can you help today?
Step 3: Kill your comfort zone
“Everything you want is just outside your comfort zone.” – Robert Allen
Think of your comfort zone as a self-imposed prison you’ve put yourself in. It consists of limiting thoughts and ideas about who you are and what you are capable of becoming. Perhaps you learned these limitations while you were young and they are still holding you hostage.
In order to get paid more, you have to believe you are worth more than you are currently making. It all starts with killing your comfort zone, all those limiting beliefs. It time for a prison break.
You can make this shift, by exchanging those negative self-thoughts with positive ones and doing something every day to that gets you out of your comfort zone. Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “You must do one thing every day that scares you.” I agree. Now is the time to take your first scary step toward becoming the person you were meant to be.
What is one scary thing you can do today to move you toward what you truly want and deserve?
It All Begins With Your Choice
There is a quote I especially love by High Point University President Nido Qubein that says, “For the timid, change is frightening, for the comfortable change is threatening, but for the confident, change is opportunity.”
In order to grow and achieve what you have never achieved before, you must become someone you have never been before. Choose to become the person you were meant to be. Just think, next year, you will be somewhere. But where you end up will be determined by what you do every day up till then. Remember, for the confident, change is opportunity. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by.
