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EP007 For The Prize or The Love of It

24 July 2021 By Larry G. Maguire READING TIME: 1 MINUTE

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In the pursuit of success, we can lead ourselves astray. Caught up in how we might be perceived or in anticipation of the prize, we lose our focus. The work itself becomes less important than the material results. This is detrimental to high performance. High performance can only ever be seen in retrospect. In other words, it's only when the job is done that we get to see the fruit of our work. It's a paradox; we've got to forget about making it happen and get into the work for its own sake. Rewards will be a reflection of our degree of focus, and focus is self-activating – we can't force or coerce it. It is a case of the self becoming absorbed in the work rather than being an observer of it. All thought about our performance takes us out of the work. It is a consequence of the absence of the thinking self that success comes about.

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About Larry G. Maguire

I'm Larry Maguire, work and organisational psychologist, writer and researcher. From an academic base in psychology, and 25+ years of experience in business ownership, I work to assist people and organisations develop effective leadership, improve motivation, achieve business goals and create healthy workplaces. I hope you enjoy the content here. Find out more or get in touch about coaching, workshops, and course delivery for you and your people

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