Recently I was struck by a couple of interesting thoughts. So, as the questioning Coach that I am...I began exploring with a series of questions. I have shared them with you below. These are powerful questions, ones that will take time to explore the truth and meaning for you, your life, your business or whatever great endeavor you are up to.
These came to me as I was affirming thoughts and goals around Breakthrough and how I was looking for a touch of that in my life. You know how sometimes we get to going down our path and we can miss out on the breakthrough or win? Most-likely it's caused because we don't stop to reflect or celebrate when we do notice and tally in the WIN column. Well, I was in one of those spaces and realized that I was so busy moving, as in networking, crafting, building, meeting that I wasn't taking care to look at my successes. It got to feeling like I was just spinning and not well...winning. I was stuck in a box (container) and could feel the pressure building to battle the containment.
As I began to go wage warfare against what I perceived to be holding me back from my wins, the pressure began to build. But build in a good way. It caused me to wage battle from a place of violent action. Think about it, violent action. Not against anyone (oh my no!) but against the box I put myself in as I was building, crafting, networking etc. What I needed was a time-out in order for me to breakout! For me at that moment, in the midst of pushing and pushing, staying up late and getting up early to do more, build more and meet more - it was time to stop and that felt as the most violent action I could take. It was so against what I had been doing, it was not a welcome stop. But, it took me being bold to say 'time-out' in order for me to break the proverbial box I was in.
In that space of stopping was where my total breakthrough happened.
As coach I help my clients find their breakthrough, get out of their box and get into action. As coach, I am not perfect nor do I have 'it' all figured out. And, I know that in taking a deeper look at myself, gives me more clarity with my clients and makes me a stronger coach. Often times we don't expect to have the same struggles our clients do, we think we 'should' be beyond it, right? Well, no not so much. We are human beings who make choices every single day that impact our tomorrow. Taking time to just reflect is the key for me. When I do that action step, to be in gratitude for what I am creating, causes me to stay fresh and clear and on purpose. Just like many of you, when I get to forging my path without respit, I lose site and feel boxed in and lacking breakthrough. Ha, guess I am human too!
Coaching Exercise:
1. When was the last time you stopped to acknowledge your wins? How do you track them?
2. What might it look like to begin waging a battle against containment?
3. What is keeping you from your Total Breakthrough?
4. If you were to take Violent Action against your situation, to get out of the proverbial box, what would that look like for you?
5. What support do you want/need around you to take action and care of your current situation?
6. Will you journal your inspirations of gratitude at the end of each day for a week so that, you may reflect after 7 days on the powerful difference you make?
Showing posts with label breakthrough. Show all posts
Showing posts with label breakthrough. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
What action will give you the highest return?
The one question that all business solopreneurs want to ask themselves on a daily basis - (What action will give me the highest return?) is key to staying focused on results.
Too often I see clients get caught up in a tailspin trying to stay ahead of their schedule or to ensure that they are being productive, only to find they are missing things along the way. This is very prominent with executives and solopreneurs. Why? Because 1) they are trying to handle too much of the load to work effectively and 2) they are often working in isolation and that keeps them bound to what they say their schedule is, objective for the day is and bottom-line is. Instead they would likely benefit from drawing on the strengths of others and having a reality check frequently to ensure they are on the right track.
When working with my clients as an Executive Coach we complete 6 questions upfront to get them clear on the direction they are wanting to go, and the potential obstacles in their path. As we further co-create the plan of action they will take to achieving (x) then we begin to design language and behavior modifications that support their goal. During that process, I introduce the question on highest return, and every time I am intrigued by the pause or complacent stare that I get in return. (One of my clients has this clearing of the voice thing he does and even while coaching across the country on a phone line, I can pick up right away when he is unsure of something or stuck.) When those moments happen, it is an opportunity to dig deeper into that stopping point. More often than not the stop is around the notion that they have to pick one action. It doesn't matter that the one action is key to the rest of their day. It doesn't mean they only work one action a day. It doesn't mean they are over simplifying their day either. What it does mean is that we are staying focused together on our agreements made around goals and objectives, and for them it is often focused on the bottom-line.
What I enjoy about the coach/client relationship when it comes to this and so many more powerful questions, I get to witness the breakdown on the way to breakthrough that can be life (and business) altering. When busy, successful, stressed out, overworked, highly valued (or whatever hat they wear for the day) people come to coaching to forward their action in the world, they don't come because something is wrong, they show up because they acknowledge needing support to get to where they envision they are going. What keeps them on track when not working with their coach is in the question. When one has clarity around what they are wanting to produce and how they will have the most success getting there, the action will inevitably follow.
So, as you ponder what your schedule looks like today, as coach I encourage you to ask yourself...What action will give you the highest return? Start your day there and everything else will fall into place.
Too often I see clients get caught up in a tailspin trying to stay ahead of their schedule or to ensure that they are being productive, only to find they are missing things along the way. This is very prominent with executives and solopreneurs. Why? Because 1) they are trying to handle too much of the load to work effectively and 2) they are often working in isolation and that keeps them bound to what they say their schedule is, objective for the day is and bottom-line is. Instead they would likely benefit from drawing on the strengths of others and having a reality check frequently to ensure they are on the right track.
When working with my clients as an Executive Coach we complete 6 questions upfront to get them clear on the direction they are wanting to go, and the potential obstacles in their path. As we further co-create the plan of action they will take to achieving (x) then we begin to design language and behavior modifications that support their goal. During that process, I introduce the question on highest return, and every time I am intrigued by the pause or complacent stare that I get in return. (One of my clients has this clearing of the voice thing he does and even while coaching across the country on a phone line, I can pick up right away when he is unsure of something or stuck.) When those moments happen, it is an opportunity to dig deeper into that stopping point. More often than not the stop is around the notion that they have to pick one action. It doesn't matter that the one action is key to the rest of their day. It doesn't mean they only work one action a day. It doesn't mean they are over simplifying their day either. What it does mean is that we are staying focused together on our agreements made around goals and objectives, and for them it is often focused on the bottom-line.
What I enjoy about the coach/client relationship when it comes to this and so many more powerful questions, I get to witness the breakdown on the way to breakthrough that can be life (and business) altering. When busy, successful, stressed out, overworked, highly valued (or whatever hat they wear for the day) people come to coaching to forward their action in the world, they don't come because something is wrong, they show up because they acknowledge needing support to get to where they envision they are going. What keeps them on track when not working with their coach is in the question. When one has clarity around what they are wanting to produce and how they will have the most success getting there, the action will inevitably follow.
So, as you ponder what your schedule looks like today, as coach I encourage you to ask yourself...What action will give you the highest return? Start your day there and everything else will fall into place.
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