1. PRINCIPLES OF PERFORMING EFFECTIVELY
By
Lewis Newman, Ph.D.
• Purpose brings power. Power comes from knowing what matters to you. That is where your energy and
passions lie.
• Mood matters. To function at your best, you need to be in a good mood. Your mood is an important ally. When
your mood is low, your IQ drops.
• What you focus upon multiplies. Focus on being efficient, and you’ll be more efficient. Focus on being
compassionate, and you’ll have more harmony. Focus on harmony, and you’ll have peace of mind.
• Examine the assumptions, thoughts, and feelings you bring to matters that trouble you. You will end up
with a fresh perspective and more skillfully resolve them.
• Perspective matters. When you lose perspective, you are like a worm in horseradish; all you see is horseradish.
You want a bird’s-eye view, not a worm’s-eye view.
• Spend more mental time in the present. That is where your power is. We spend too much time thinking about the
past and plotting the future.
• Say Yes to pain and No to suffering. Suffering comes about when you say No to what is and don’t take care of
business. Feel what you feel and do what you have to do.
• Dismiss distracting self-talk. Accept what has happened, envision what you want, and take action. Most
self-talk is useless.
• Most judgments, explanations, and theories are just stories. Treat them as such, and you’ll begin to see
how you distort reality.
• We each experience reality differently. Failure to accept this fact is the cause of most of the conflict
we have with others. You have your stories about the way people should be. Others have theirs.
• Balance proving yourself with mastery. Learn new things and develop yourself to the fullest.
• Foolish individuals question what they see, not what they think. Wise individuals question what they think, not
what they see. The wise individual is open to what is actually taking place.
• Stop relying on criticism and blame to get what you want. If criticism worked, we would have a perfect world.
• Consider the consequences of your actions – not only those that are short term and intended, but those that are
long term and unintended. They are the ones that boomerang.
• View help from others as a means to excellence rather than as a cure for deficiencies. We all have blind
spots that a partner, coach or mentor can point out. Allow others to openly challenge your thinking and actions.
• Living and working are journeys. If you focus only on results, you will miss the trip.
Copyright © 2009 by Lewis Newman, Ph.D.