Pull Your SHIFT Together

If you haven’t noticed yet, our theme for the year is all based around #GYST or getting your SHIfT together. Whether it’s shifting a prospect or a client’s mentality around the way their benefits are typically managed, or getting your agency’s SHIfT together with planning documents, or individually shifting your focus from being reactive to proactive, our goal this year has been to continuously work with our clients and the industry to focus on how and what can be shifted into the positive.

We’re so committed to this SHIfT, for our recent Q4Live conference, we brought in keynote speaker, Jennifer Powers, to engage our audience around this topic. She focused on this theme with her easy-to-use tactics for changing your mindset that she writes about so well in her book, Oh SHIfT.

It’s a fun play on letters/words, but most importantly, it’s incredible how all it takes is a little change in mentality to truthfully shift your mindset from defeat to success, from a bad day to a good day, from a frown to a smile…you get the picture.

But I’m too busy!

Yeah, yeah, you’re thinking. But I’m SO busy as an agency owner, a broker, an account manager, you just don’t understand. It’s SO difficult to really do all of this ‘head in the clouds’ stuff, I’d rather just be frustrated and move forward.

Sounds ridiculous that anyone would think/say this right? Unfortunately, this is a common attitude many people approach change with because it’s easier to blame other things for what’s not working instead of making simple shifts to view reality differently.

Well, we’re here to tell you that doesn’t have to be the case. Here are four ways to subtly SHIfT yourself…in the kind of way you don’t have to clean your pants afterwards!

1) Control what you can control. YOU

“Things really don’t happen TO you. Things just happen. It’s how you react to those things that gives you control of your life. ” - Jennifer Powers.

Now really think on that. Think about how you react when something goes wrong or even when something goes right. It’s so easy to think negatively.

Here’s an example of how you can shift your reaction when something doesn’t go the way you want. This is an example based on true events that you can probably relate to pretty well!

You’ve been working with a prospect for months, maybe even years, and you’ve finally gotten the opportunity to present to them to compete for the opportunity to be their broker. You do everything right, go above and beyond, help them to see the light and then you get the email. “Thank you for all of your time and effort, but we’ve decided to go a different route.”

How do you react?

Option 1: Blame the prospect for not being smart enough to see just how incredible you are, then send said prospect a nasty email about how bad they are messing up and to “not come crawling to you in 6 months when you’re up s**t creek.” Blame everyone else for what happened, and sulk about it. (Don’t laugh, this happens more often than you think!)

Option 2: Say “Oh, SHIfT,” instead of “Oh S**T,” and understand that this prospect spent countless nights not sleeping over making this decision. Realize that it just wasn’t in the cards for you at the time, and send a well-put-together response letting them know you wish nothing but the best for them. Then focus on the next 5 opportunities that are coming your way.

Since I said this was based on real events, I can also share the response that came back from the prospect. They responded graciously about how this person was the most decent broker they had ever dealt with – unlike the other three competitors – and they would be sure to share that information with anyone they came across, AND if they ever did decide to make a change, "You would be our FIRST choice."

You’re in control of your thoughts, you’re in control of your reactions, and you’re in control of the outcome you choose to see.

2) Ditch the negativity

“Life does not have to be difficult, painful, negative, or a struggle.” - Jennifer Powers.

So many times we grow accustomed to thinking this world is such a negative place and everything is aligned to make it more difficult. That’s simply not true. Your life, and how you choose to manage it, is meant to be easier than you think. Once you ditch the negative thoughts (I don’t have time, I don’t have money, I don’t have anyone to help me, etc.) and shift them into positive ones (I do have time, I have more than enough money, I have more help than I think...) you’ll start to see things differently.

3) Own your own SHIfT

This is pretty self-explanatory but one of the harder things to accomplish. Once you realize that it’s YOU who owns your reactions, then the SHIfT will come together so much easier.

4) Commit

This is a theme that will probably NEVER escape any of our posts on accountability. Commit to saying “Oh SHIfT” instead of “Oh S**T” every time an adverse situation comes up and you’ll start to see things so much differently. Haven’t started that strategic planning? OH SHIfT, it’s a great opportunity to start now, before fourth quarter starts!