Do you want 2010 to be your best year yet? Well of course - why wouldn't you? The following tips come from my own experience and while applicable to everyone, I'm writing specifically for other coaches, trainers and facilitators. While we are often focused on our clients and contribution to others, we need to be mindful of continuously working on ourselves, to be the best we can be, to do the best work we possibly can. So:
- Be complete about 2009 (and the 2000-2009 decade). Have you taken time to pause, reflect, acknowledge, and celebrate the year that has passed? How are you feeling? What are you thinking? What were the highlights of your 2009? How has 2009 helped you grow? Were there any disappointments? Anything to leave behind? What have you learnt in the past year and past decade? It is valuable to spend time in mindful reflection of what has past. This brings closure and allows new space and energy to move forward powerfully into a new year and to create new intentions.
- Assess Your Current Situation. Look at all areas of your life. Perhaps you could do a Balance Wheel and think about what areas are working and what areas you might want to focus on, or what areas you may want to make changes in the coming year. The general categories in the Balance Wheel are Work/Career/Business; Personal; Relationships/ Romance & Intimacy; Family & Friends; Health & Fitness; Fun & Recreation; Finances/Money; Spiritual. You can make your own wheel with the categories that work for you. Most coaches know the wheel, but have you had a good look lately at your own wheel lately? How balanced are you? What is most important to you?
- Creating 2010 (and perhaps the next decade). What can you dream for yourself if this was to be your best year yet and your Best Decade yet? What would that look like? Apply the Law of Attraction principles. You do create what you think about. Play with this for at least several days at this time of year. Dream BIG. Make it up - why not? And then write it down, or create a mind map, vision board or mind movie.
- Brainstorm Options. Given your current situation, and your big dreams, what goals might you like to set for yourself this year? Make a good list, knowing you may not take them all on at this time. It's just great to get all the possibilities down on paper so you can choose powerfully where you want to focus (yes, this really is sounding like a self-coaching session isn't it?!)
- Set S.M.A.R.T. goals. Now you need to get really specific about your goals for the year. If you don't know, the SMART acronym stands for Specific, Measurable, Attractive (Attainable/Achievable); Realistic, with a Time Frame. Write your goals down and write them as though they have already been achieved. Coaches know this already, but have you done this for yourself for this year? It is important. I recommend not taking on too many big goals. Better to focus on 2 or 3 big things at a time or make monthly, quarterly or six monthly goals and revisit this process several times thru the year.
- Get your own support system. Have you got a coach? A friend who supports you? Even us professional coaches and trainers need our own positive network and support to assist us achieve our goals, and overcome our challenges. I have several wonderful people in my life, as well as my own coach and mentor, and my coach supervisor, all of whom I can call on for support and share my goals with so they can hold the space for me to grow into and hold me accountable.
- Manage Your Time Effectively. Setting goals in itself will assist you focus on what is important to you, versus what seems urgent, but not important. Prioritise. Remember the story of the Rocks, Pebbles, Sand, and Water. We need to put the big rocks (ie. Time to work on our big goals) in to our diaries first, then the smaller things (the pebbles, sand, water) will fit around the bigger things. If you haven't seen this demonstration imagine if you put the water, then the sand, then the pebbles, then big rocks into a jar. The big rocks would not fit, but if you place the same things into the same size jar in the opposite order everything does fit.
- Being in Action. The Visioning, Law of Attraction, Setting Goals, etc. are all great and necessary .and there is also the Law of Action. You must take action to achieve your desired outcome. Every day determine what you are doing today towards your big goals and do whatever it takes. Know yourself. If you procrastinate, or avoid some actions you don't like doing perhaps you need to make yourself do the yukky things first, before doing something you prefer to do. Work with your coach about any habits you may have that are not in line with who you want to be.
Bonus Tips
1. Keep Positive & Stay in the Flow. Most of the above are fairly general steps that are probably not new to you. When I look at myself and wonder what really works for me - I think it has a lot to do with my positive attitude to life and being the optimist (which can be learned - refer Martin Seligman's book "Learned Optimism".) Don't get caught in problems and dramas. Stay in Vision and Planning and doing the positive actions that move you forward. Watch what you speak about. Your words create your world. Trust all is perfect and good things do happen. Believe in miracles (read or listen to Maryanne Williamson). I trust all will work out. I go with the flow, while also having intentions and goals for how I want my life to be. It is sometimes a fine line between being in the NOW and accepting what is so, while simultaneously expecting an even better future. Erchart Tolle writes about this in "A New Earth". Hang around with other positive people. Keep learning and growing and finding life the exciting and wonderful journey that it is.
2. Remember Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - several are already covered above but they are a great reminder to us all.
Dependence to Independence
- Habit 1: Be Proactive: Principles of Personal Choice
- Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind: Principles of Personal Vision
- Habit 3: Put First Things First: Principles of Integrity & Execution
Independence to Interdependence
- Habit 4: Think Win/Win: Principles of Mutual Benefit
- Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood: Principles of Mutual Understanding
- Habit 6: Synergize: Principles of Creative Cooperation
Continual Improvement
- Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw: Principles of Balanced Self-Renewal of body
3. Thomas Leonards 28 Principles of Attraction. If you don't know Thomas, or his principles, then click here for more information. A must for all coaches.
I do trust this article has been of value for you. Take some action NOW. What are you going to do differently after reading this?
About the Author
BARBARA ANDERSON, is an executive coach, business & organisation coach, team coach, personal coach, and a professional trainer and facilitator. She is a Master Certified Coach, the highest credential awarded by the International Coach Federation. Barbara was awarded 'ICF Australian Coach of the Year' in 2008. Barbara has been training and facilitating for over 25 years, and coaching for 11 years. She has a Bachelor of Business (Human Resources and Psychology) and the Graduate Certificate in HRM & Coaching. She lives in Cronulla (a southern suburb of Sydney), and works locally, across Australia and all over the globe - especially in Asia. For more information about Barbara and her business visit http://www.shirecoachingtraining.com.au
