Thoughts, Words and Actions Are the Only Things You Can Control

When you have a bad day or a bad moment, the only decision maker in the rebound is you.

SPONSOREDUpdated 3:15PM • 06/23/16

The thing I love most about attending business conferences is listening to others share their life stories about how they accomplished something.

At FranConnection 2016, FranConnect’s user conference, Bryon Stephens, President & Chief Operating Officer of Marco’s Pizza, keynoted a presentation in which he said “thoughts, words and actions are the only things you can control.” This stuck with me as being extremely real and appropriate.

For those who use this pathway successfully, that pattern can lead to profound moments, in which you can inspire others with your experiences, as Stephens did. He thought about his struggles in life, turned them into words of self encouragement and then made something out of them.

Our dreams are our thoughts, our plans are our words and our actions are the results of turning our dreams into realities. You get to set your own dreams and decide if you want to accomplish them. You are in complete control of every moment in your life, even the bad ones.

When you have a bad day or a bad moment, the only decision maker in the rebound is you. And when you claim this ultimate control, you then take responsibility of your future.

Far too often, in business and in life, people fail to take responsibility for their actions—choosing to, instead, blame others or other situations for their actions. This is the easy way out—but not the one admired by others.

Stephens talked about words when it came to discussions about hitting sales goals within his organization. He said he had a check-in with a sales guy who was ready to use his thoughts, words and actions to create an excuse to him not hitting his KPIs.

“When I ask if you hit your sales goal and your answer is a sentence, I know you are about to make excuses,” Stephens said. “It should be a simple yes or no answer, and that person is in charge of what they say and what they do in that situation, not me.”

Think about that. In good and bad situations, you decide how to translate your thoughts. When you struggle, you decide if you ask for help. When you win, you decide if you give praise to yourself or an entire team. When someone cuts you off in traffic, you decide if you give the finger, a thumbs up, or just go on with life.

We are in control of much more than we give ourselves credit for. Once you embrace this, own it and do something about it, you set yourself up to win at every moment. Sometimes winning is simply going on with life.