Yes, I know. It’s winter. It’s still dark when you come out of work, and maybe even when you head there in the morning. But there are definite signs of spring around. A daffodil here. A snowdrop there. Do they give you the optimistic feeling of emerging from gloomy winter? *
I don’t know about you, but I’m a bit resistant to planning for the year in January. So I’ve been letting the natural positivity of the time of year spring me forward with my plans. And I’ve been encouraging my coaching clients to do the same.
Step 1
The first thing to do is to book a few chunks of time into a scheduler or diary. This is ‘creation’ time. Time to lift your vision up above the day-to-day and reflect. So it’s worth being thoughtful about when you slot these in.
Once they’re booked, do your best to stick to your plans. If the slot gets lost reschedule it! My coaching clients are thoroughly sick of me saying this but it really is key to making big progress. Steven Covey, in his Seven Habits of Highly Effective People calls this work, ‘Important but Not Urgent’. It’s vital for happiness and fulfilment but this kind of work can slip away if you don’t protect it.
Step 2
Ask yourself some ‘coachly’ questions designed to leap over the fears, anxieties and rackets that can hold you back from exploring what’s possible. How about these to get started?
- If I absolutely knew I couldn’t fail what would I aim for?
- How would that benefit me? My team? My organisation? Beneficiaries or users?
- If I could do exactly what I wanted what would I do?
- What have I always longed to do but didn’t feel was possible?
- What is it about me that makes me perfect to reach my goals?
- How can I bring along each individual member of my team?
- What do I need to believe to create this change?
- What might get in my way?
- What did I do when I leapt over a hurdle before?
- What three things will I do now to move forward?
Step 3 – take the actions!
Over to you
Are you feeling positive about the year ahead? If you haven’t yet given yourself the gift of some ‘creation’ time, block it out right now and protect it with your life! Now is the perfect time for a boost of creative energy so give it a go and see if it puts a spring in your step.
What next?
If you’d like support in working through those questions I’d love to hear from you. I’ve a few spaces to start coaching with me in March and April.
Drop me an email at Katie@be-the-change.org.uk to arrange a no-obligation Discovery Call or you can book one in direct. Let’s see how I can help you take those important steps towards your vision.
*For the purposes of this blog, all references to Brexit have been banned!