Auto Repair Shop Owner's Daily Dose 37: Feelings are Feedback

Feelings are Feedback by Rick White, President 180BIZ

The first thing I want to do is I want to tell you about a recent conversation that I had with a client. I was checking in on a shop owner and his wife to see how they were doing. They mentioned that things have been tight and they’re not doing very well. This shop’s customer base is mostly dealerships and other shops. And as you can guess right now their businesses way off because of that.

One previously talked to them about getting out there with Facebook videos and expand their customer base using different strategies. They can expand their audience, their reach. The owner’s wife has posted a few videos on Facebook. But, when I looked on their page, they haven't done much of anything lately. I asked what was going on with their outreach and videos. She replied that they cut back on staff and didn’t have the time. And when she did have time, she told me that she didn’t feel like it.

Number one, not having time is an excuse. She wasn’t making the time. And the second excuse was that she didn’t feel like it. This is important so pay attention. Feelings are not meant to show us a destination. They're not meant to create a destination. Our feelings are feedback. That is all. They are feedback on what we're paying attention to and the meaning we're giving it.

If you wait until you feel like doing something, you will never do it. We all have to do things when we don't feel like it. I've been on a weight loss thing for a while now. I'm down 36 pounds and let me tell you something. If I waited until I felt like exercising, I would never exercise. Your feelings are indicators. They indicate what you're paying attention to and the meaning you're giving it. Also, listen to the words you use. If you start using what I call blanket statements that start with everyone or no one, you have a problem. Statements such as Everyone is staying home, no one is working, nobody is spending any money are blanket statements. They are dangerous. They are indications of feelings.

This is why I talked about guarding your mind in a previous episode. We must guard our minds and make sure there are only certain things going in. If we don't guard our minds, we end up with weeds growing. We end up with negativity growing. We don't have to plant weeds. They happen all by themselves. So, guard your mind and be aware of where you are psychologically. Do not let your feelings dictate your actions. Feelings are feedback and nothing more. If you don't feel like doing something, step back and ask yourself, “What am I thinking? What am I focused on? What am I feeling?”

The reality is the shop owner and his wife did some videos and didn’t get the traction that they thought they would. They stopped doing it. When I started doing videos for my Just One Thing series every Monday morning, I talked live to no one. That’s right, for the first few months no one attended. And as far as I'm concerned, I love my wife, but she doesn’t count. My point is that we must do stuff like this even when there's no one there.

We do things when we don't feel like doing them. That is where growth comes from. That is where leadership starts. Leadership starts with self-management. You cannot lead others until you manage yourself. That means managing what we should be doing when we don't want to do it.

When my daughter graduated from high school, on the day she turned 18 I told her the secret to success in life. I told her that I wouldn’t tell her what to do anymore. When she makes an adult decision, there are adult ramifications to it. There are rewards and repercussions to it. I told her that I wouldn’t tell her to do her homework anymore. I wouldn’t tell her to clean her room anymore. Your ability to be successful with anything you do in life from this point forward is directly related to your ability to self-parent.

There will always be stuff that we should do but don’t feel like doing. And we must be able to kick our own butts to get ourselves to do it. And that's why I've been talking to you about guarding your mind. That’s why I talk about pain and pleasure and assigning as much pleasure as we possibly can to doing what we're doing and how good is it going to feel.

There are people that hate doing videos, but I have pushed my clients to post videos on Facebook. They are having remarkable results in their business. But it takes time. So, you have to kick your own butt and self-parent. Don't let your feelings dictate your actions. Feelings are feedback. There are mornings when I don't want to exercise. But you know something. When I exercise, when I push myself through it, I feel amazing. I feel amazing because it invigorated me. It made me feel stronger. Also, it made me realize that I'm in control. It made me realize that I decide what I do and don't do.

This is what I want for you. Feelings are feedback and nothing more. Put a list together of stuff you know you should be doing. My clients all know what that is. It's called Five to Thrive. What are the five things you will do every day to thrive? I don’t mean survive; I mean thrive. And then you do those every day until your butt falls off regardless of whether you feel like it or not. That's the way this works.

You must be able to self-manage. And the way you do that is to recognize that your feelings are not mile markers. If you wait until you feel like it, it will be the biggest mistake you will ever make. It will cause you to live smaller than you could and should be.

What I want you to do is realize that feelings are feedback. So, if you've got a bad feeling about something or you don't feel like doing something, ask yourself what you are focused on. Then, realize that it's time to self-parent. You figure out what needs action and then you take action on it every single day. Get an accountability partner if it will help you. Do not let your feelings dictate what your actions are and it's going to make an amazing difference.

Tip for the Day. When things are tight, and you're worried about getting to the end of the day or getting to the end of the week, or being able to pay your bills you start focusing on your needs. When you focus on your needs, you are no longer in a relationship. Whether this is personal or business, when you're focused on your needs or what you're not getting, you are not in a relationship. You are focused on you. You're focused on yourself. The world ends at your nose.

This is a strange business secret. Stop focusing on the money and focus on the person. Focus on helping and serving your customer, on connecting, on engaging, on understanding their needs, wants, and goals. Focus on making their agenda your agenda. If you focus 100% on that, the money is a byproduct. When you focus on money, you're going to be chasing it your whole life. People can feel it. We are really good at intuitively picking up other's intentions. We are great at understanding what other people's intentions are. Even if you say the right words and say it with a smile, people will pick up on it in your tone and your body language. Focus is everything.

So, I'm telling you that there are two really weird business truths. If you want to make more money, slow down. That's the first one. The second one is to stop paying attention to the money, so you get more money. That is the business tip for your shops today. Focus on your customers. Focus on serving and helping. Be honest. Be transparent. Have that as your only intention and you're going to see your sales increase.

Take care. Make today a blessed day. Go make some money. Create the day of your dreams with intention and ignore your feelings.