​While the world continues to progress in the most astounding way known in human history, we continue to see instances in which individuals are completely narrow minded and focused solely on their best interest. Unfortunately, the depth of these individual's reach has progressed into positions of power, in which they have certain access to make things increasingly hard for others.  

My hope is that with this article, I might be able to help those who wish to become a better version of themselves, in order to achieve higher levels of greatness. Those are the individuals who are primarily unhappy with who they are. Those who feel a little ugly on the inside when certain actions are taken.  

Hi. Welcome. I hope you are here because you see the error in your ways and wish for more than your day-to-day strife.  

The first step in becoming a better version of you is to become open-minded. Here are 6 small habits that if used daily will help you step into the right direction. 

#1 Cast Your Ego Aside 
Understand that every individual that you cross paths with has their own story, and their own problems. While you struggle with a car that needs maintenance, there is an individual out there that wishes they had a vehicle.  

I am unsure how the ego that has placed so many ill-fitting individuals high on the chain of command has ever been developed. While leaders within any corporation should have the characteristic of confidence, some need to learn to tone it down. 

Because some hold offices or positions in which offer a small amount of power over others, they feel as their ego is often right. Some develop an over inflated ego which now overpowers all other logic. 

Those who live amongst these types of individuals must learn cunning ways to earn their influence. Unfortunately, they start to decrease the value of our work due to this. They feel unappreciated and resentful.  

Let’s stop the loop. Let’s set aside our own thoughts of self-worth, or self-worthlessness and start to put our own needs aside to think of others. Use that over inflated ego to fight for those who need to be fought for.  

More often than not, your ego will pop it’s head up when the situation does not warrant it to. It takes time in order for us to control our egos. So, this might happen often when you initially choose to reel it in. 

And that’s okay. 

Take the time to acknowledge what warranted your ego to make its debut. Prepare yourself for the next possible time that the situation might arise.  

#2 Allow people to rebuttal 
Once your ego has been tamed, it is time that you opened your ears to other’s. There are times in which you will not know the answer to every situation. 

Accept it. 

You will need to accept it in order to understand that you NEED people to show you where you went wrong. Or what other solutions are available to the problem that you may have overlooked.  

There are individuals around you that might have better insight on the situation on hand. Their knowledge should not be discarded without taking the time to understand their point of views. 

Sit patiently while others discuss their point of view. When you feel your ego start to sprout, breath in deeply, and exhale slowly. Be alert to what awakened your ego and take a mental note of it. 

#3 Allow yourself time to digest information 
This step is a kindness to you and your emotions. 

At one point when I was in my 20s, I wanted nothing more than to dead all emotions. My young mind correlated that with having emotional intelligence.  

Clearly that is not the case.  

Having emotional attachments to others is a strength. It allows you to empathize with other individuals. This in turn will allow you to maneuver through the workplace smoothly. It will also allow you to make work relationships last.  

Taking time to digest why you felt a sort of emotional response against information received is one of the most intelligent things any individual can do. It allows time for self-reflection, and a better understanding of one’s own thoughts. 

After information is received, walk away from the situation. Spend time with family and friends. Enjoy a glass of wine. Come back with a fresh prospective, and allow yourself time to analyze over the proposed plans.  

#4 Allow yourself time to think of possible outcomes 
A great many influential leaders of our times were visionaries.  

They always kept their thoughts on the bigger picture and their goals. Small achievements were steps to the bigger end result.  

Likewise, some of the most successful businessmen and woman have also followed this same path. They analyzed information and thought of every possible outcome that may arise before making a choice.  

You must do the same. 

Make no mistake, that every action has an equal reaction to it. There is no step that you make that will go unnoticed in this world. Especially now with use of the internet.  

Therefore, it is absolutely vital that you stop for a moment and look down the path of each choice. Make sure that you acknowledge that there are almost always 3 choices. Take action, take no action, or take the opposite and equal reaction. 

#5 Learn to respect other's individuality 
Most of the time, I feel that the higher a person is on the food chain, the more they forget that other people are uniquely individual from each other.  

This is here to reinforce this idea. 

Understand that people are completely different from one another. This is something that should be celebrated, not tamed.  

Corporations spend big bucks on hiring managers who do not wish to acknowledge that other people are different. They want everyone to integrate smoothly into one cookie cutter image of where we should go, what we should do, and how we behave. 

This is the worst possible thing that can ever be done.  

This process literally stifles all creative energy. Then you end up getting a group of robots that just yes you to death. They offer no solutions and no hope of change.  

Respecting individual differences allow others to feel secure in their position within the company. They will be able to speak freely on certain objections that they may have, and will be able to give detailed rationales as to why. 

Do not ever discredit someone’s ability to give you unique insight because you feel they are beneath you, or lack the education. Everyone’s life’s experiences have taught them things that books may have otherwise missed. Acknowledging this will open your mind to other possibilities.  

Those in history who have made the most impact on our culture have been those who's self-sacrifice has been evident time and time again. Their resilience continues to astound us as we read bibliographies. Their compassionate nature has created an influence that has swept the nation. And they continue to influence long past their death. 

More and more it feels as though we continually mis-read and misinterpret their actions. We continue to live lives that we feel we “deserve” without putting forth a sacrifice, or the discipline needed in order for us to find that greatness. 

It is with a heavy heart that those of us who still remain compassionate and trusting watch the world spin further and further into disorder and chaos. Slowly our mentality switches and we decide that maybe the other side is better. That throwing our compassionate nature to the wind is the best way to go about things. 

I sincerely hope that is not the case. Stay here. Fight the ongoing stream that leads most individuals towards the lure of chaos and disorder. Be safe, and stay well.