Every morning for several years, promptly at 10:00 a.m., a prominent business woman visited her mother in a nursing home. She was close to her mother and loved her very much. Often she had requests for appointments at that time of day. Her response was always the same: “No, I’ve got to visit with my mother.” Eventually, her mother died. Shortly thereafter someone asked this woman for an appointment 10:00 a.m. It suddenly hit her that she could no longer visit her mother. Her next thought was, “Oh, I wish I could visit my mother just one more time.” From that moment on, she changed her “got to’s” to “get to’s.”Her story makes us realize that pleasurable things are “get-to’s.” Burdensome things are “got-to’s.” I get to play golf today; I get to go on vacation this week, etc. We use the term “got to” when it’s not necessarily pleasurable: I’ve got to go to work at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow; I’ve got to clean house; etc. Since perceptions influence our thinking and performance, try this. Instead of, “I’ve got to go to work,” think about those who have no job. Then you can enthusiastically change it to, “I get to go to work tomorrow.” If somebody invites you to go fishing, instead of saying, “No, I’ve got to go to my child’s game on Saturday,” think about the fact that someday your child will grow up and you won’t be able to go to his or her games. Then it’s easy to change it to “get to.”
It’s amazing what that change in words will eventually do for your attitude. You’ll find yourself looking forward to doing those things instead of feeling as if you have to do them. With a difference in attitude, there’ll be a difference in performance. With a difference in performance, there’ll be a difference in rewards. So think about those things, change your “got-to’s” to “get to’s” and I’ll SEE YOU AT THE TOP! Adopted From http://www.ziglar.com/
