4 Coaching Tips to Help When It's Time to Let Go and Move On!

Ideas are for a season - businesses are too.

Recently I heard a story of a business owner with a really great idea. Their idea was so good, they just knew that it was going to revolutionize their SOI - Sphere of Influence. As they nurtured their idea to reality, they were met with severe opposition, at every juncture. Yet the opposition or resistance was not something they viewed as reason to stop moving on their idea.

How many of you know that there are times when being met with an opposing force can actually be good for your idea. It can help you gain clarity around what you are doing and what the outcome may look like. But the question is, do you know when it is time to let go of an idea because ideas can actually be for a season?

Depending on how you answered that question will tell you how to proceed through this post. Knowing with all clarity when an idea may be for a season is key for knowing when to let go and move on. It is in the times when we keep pressing in and forward on an idea, without calibrating our steps, that can cause serious wheel spinning. What is significant is increasing one's ability to identify when letting go is actually more beneficial than hanging on. Even if it is more than an idea, it's a business, or partnership, or employee.

Once you have identified that letting go and creating a plan for moving on from your idea or whatever it is you are hanging on to is your next best step, here are 4 coaching tips to help you.

Tip #1 - Make your list. Write out the pros and con's to moving and/or sticking with it. Attach your feelings and emotions to the list - how do each on make you feel? When we clearly know the "why factor" and the feelings it evokes, the letting go can be smoother.

Tip #2 - Write an Affirmation. We know that affirmations are powerful as we move toward the changes we want to make in our lives and businesses. Much research has been done that supports using affirmations daily increases our self efficacy. Well using affirmations can be powerful for the things we 'don't want' just as they are for the things we 'do.' So, write an affirmation the supports your transition and say it two times a day.

Tip #3 - Acknowledge the work you have done. Often times when we make a decision to let go of an idea and move away from it, we leave out acknowledging the many hours and work that went into it to this point. When we set aside self-promotion and advocacy for a dismissive attitude or simply just by ignoring our efforts, we aren't gifting our mindset with the opportunity to celebrate, even failures. There are learning opportunities everywhere, even in our failures or course corrections. Don't deny yourself that gift by neglecting to honor your work.

Tip #4 - Make a To-Do list. Now that you have your Pros and Con's, Affirmation and Acknowledgment, it's time to make your list for next steps. It's the "what will I do differently" list. The one that will help move you to the next level in your journey. Remaining open to possibility in this transition is so key to the success on the other side of it. Most successful people fail many times before they hit their stride. By letting go of an idea, partnership or even business is not the end,it is only the beginning. And as we do at new cross-roads, we gain clarity around what to do next. It starts with a list which turns into an agreement and an action plan for the future.

By applying these four tips to your transition, you will navigate well through the ever changing waters. Sometimes it takes going back and reassessing multiple times, writing new affirmations and keeping up to date on your list. And when you are faithful to the process, you will feel more in control of the change happening around you.