As we settle into our daily routines, sometimes we tend to take fewer chances. The following suggestions may increase our tolerance for change and risk:
· Think of four things you have always wanted to try and then schedule one every four months.
· Rearrange furniture. Take a new route to work.
· Take a course, class or seminar that will help you learn a new skill.
· Upgrade computer skills by learning how to use a new piece of software. If you’re not using a computer, sign up for a class to learn how to use one.
· Discuss assumptions about your job, co-workers, etc. Listen to comments and challenge your assumptions.
· Improve your health – diet, work out, stop smoking.
· Reward yourself when you try something new. But reward risk, not success. Success is its own reward.
· Try skiing, softball, basketball or some other sport. The idea is to expand your self and try new things.
· Pick out one thing you’d like to change in your life and go after it. Write it down, list the steps you need to take to accomplish it, set deadlines and take the first step!
Source: Excerpts from communication briefings, Sept. 1993, by Jim Kutsko, writing in The Denver Business Journal.