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A few years ago, I participated in a sales training program where we often asked this question.
This stems from something we referred to as I/R theory. I being the person I am versus R being the role I am in at any given time. We are all actors in this play we call life. Sometimes the role is employee or boss. At other times it may be child, sibling, parent or friend. They can all happen minutes apart.
If I were to ask you how your “R” is today, on a scale of 1 – 10, it could be 1 as a boss because you are about to fire someone and it doesn’t feel very good; it could be 5 as a father because you have to miss one of your kids’ games. But your “I”, that should always be a 10.
You could also say that “I” stands for integrity. If you are always true to yourself and act with integrity, there should be no reason to feel bad about who “I” am. When your “I” is out of sync with your “R”, you really need to be honest with yourself and see if the correction should be to the role you are playing or whether you as a person have not been true to your own values. The hard part is accepting that you may have to change your role to match your “I”.
There are times when your “R”ole takes you outside of your comfort zone for a brief period and that’s ok. It may be teaching a child a lesson or taking action with a disgruntled employee. That’s brief and necessary. When that happens for most of the time, now you need to think about changing the role. There may be a need to change jobs or to spend less time with someone so that your “I” isn’t damaged.
So, what is your “I” today?
Make it a great day!
Barry
P.S. What am I thankful for today? I’m thankful for a wonderful weekend with great friends. I’m thankful for Rooney, Earl & Partners. I’m thankful for opportunity.
What are you thankful for today?
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