Take Stock: Know who you are

“Stock Take.” When you sell products, one of the things that you do regularly is a stock take. You do this because you need to understand what your reserves are and whether you have enough stock to keep supplying your customers or whether you are oversupplied. Taking stock of your life is similar.

Growing up, I had a job as a milk boy. This was in a time when fresh milk was delivered to your home. You would put empty bottles out with money, in return for full bottles.

We would start the night by loading up the truck at the milk station, with enough milk for that evening; this was based on information about previous stock levels. At each checkpoint we would load up the pushcart, my boss would do this based on the knowledge he had, of how much milk was required on this part of the milk run. As I delivered to the different homes in the streets of this part of the run, I would need to constantly monitor my stock levels. Although people would typically get a similar quantity, it wasn’t uncommon for people to ask for more. Before I agreed to sell more, I would assess my stock load to ensure I still had enough to last for the rest of the section. The job was physical and hilly, there was nothing worse than running out and having to backtrack or carrying too much on the cart and expending energy that I didn’t need to.

“Make sure you have the right amount, so you don’t have to go back or exert more energy unnecessarily”

On the milk round, taking stock regularly was a big part of the job. If it wasn’t managed carefully or calculated right, it would cause delays, complaints, stress, and energy loss. Regular numbers were getting calculated and submitted back to the main distribution centre, to ensure the demand was met.

What can we learn in applying this to ourselves?

There are some key things that we need to take stock of in our lives. They are:

·         Relationships (Like family, friends, connections, and associations)

·         Commitments (Like work, clubs, hobbies, aspirations, and sports)

·         Health (Like physical, mental, and spiritual)

·         Growth (Like professional, financial, and personal)

When we take stock of the above things, we need to consider this question.

“Am I aligning myself and my needs now, in order to be successful in my purpose for the future.”

To get alignment we need to measure against time, energy, resource, and impact. Most importantly, are you moving forward in a proactive way. Some questions you can ask when taking stock.

·         Do I need this or not?

·         What time am I spending?

·         Is this good or bad?

·         How much energy is this taking me?

·         Do I need to resource better?

·         Is this having the desired impact?

Example: If we were taking stock of our relationships.  We would think about the ones that are helping us grow and move forward and the ones that are not helpful or dragging us down. Once we have identified that, we can act on it. We would spend less time with relationships that hold us back.

 Consider this statement.

“To be able to know what we are taking stock of, we need to consider what demand we are needing to meet” Be clear about what you are taking stock of and why.

 Taking stock of your life needs to be intentional and regular. Not doing this can cause delays, hurt, stress, and energy loss. Your life can easily become absorbed with unnecessary clutter and disruption. Regular stock takes will help mitigate this.

 My 5 Learnings:

·         I need to take stock of my life regularly

·         There will be times I will need more capacity to give more of myself

·         To know what to take stock of, I need to know what I do and who I am

·         I need to identify when to cut things out of my life that hold me back

·         Life will change and if I am not taking stock I won’t know how to respond

At first taking stock might feel uncomfortable, but the more you do it the more you will see the benefits, and your confidence will build.

My 3 Questions for you:

·       What do you need to take stock of to help you move forward?

·       Are you living a life of stress, pressure, and unrealistic expectation?

·       What will you use as the outcome measure for a life stock take?

 Tidying is a way of taking stock that shows us what we really like. - Marie Kondo

If you need help in a life stock take, or if there is something you have questions about, please talk to me. I would be happy to help and chat with you.

Remember daily to, “Find value in your influence”