What is keeping you on track to achieving your goals? Are you on a clear path or have you wandered into unknown territory without a map?
I love my GPS system. It saves me time, money, and loads of frustration. There are very few destinations I head to anymore without first entering the address and hitting “go”. Even if I know the way, I’ll turn it on and let it do its job. Sometimes it takes me a new route that is faster. Sometimes it detours me around construction or traffic that would slow me down. It frees me up so I can focus more on driving and less on remembering where to turn.
GPS is not the same as autopilot. I still have to be present in the moment, keep my eyes on the road and other drivers, and I decide when to accelerate or slow down. If I get off track or lost, my GPS reroutes me putting me back on target.
Leaving the film business after twenty years was a major life change. Being able to spend the past 7 years now making a significant difference in other people’s lives continues to be very rewarding. Watching my clients dream bigger than ever before, set goals and achieve them, and move through what has stopped them in the past is extremely gratifying and inspiring.
But I’m human and there are moments where I get stuck or lose my focus. Sometimes I’ll stop and realize I’m putting all my energy into long term goals that do not need to happen right now. That’s when I draw on some essential steps, which include:
- Be aware – give yourself time to pause and assess, especially if you’re not on your game
- Write it out – jot downs the thoughts that are swirling to reduce the confusion and mental haze
- Get tactical – make note of the actions and thoughts that are essential to you being successful this week
- Get coached – coaching has played a critical role in my successful career transition, grief recovery, and finding happiness again in life
As I was pondering the last step of getting coached, it struck me that having a coach is like having a GPS system for my life. Yes, I very clearly know my vision and goals. Sure, I am a highly self-motivated person with an incredible work ethic and I love what I do every day. But on those days when I get distracted, having a coach to help me reroute back toward my destination and around obstacles I create for myself allows me to refocus and recommit. In the past, without a coach, I would have eventually worked my way through the confusion and haze but not without losing significant time and productivity. I would have let my inner critic have a field day over the time and energy expended in all the wrong ways and places. I may have gotten stuck in confusion. Instead, I can get back on track producing results aligned with my short term goals within a very short period of time.
Someone once asked me, on a day where I was stuck, how it was that I could coach others out of similar states of confusion and lack of clarity but couldn’t do it for myself. Because, I answered…when you are sitting in the middle of your own stuff, sometimes that is all you can see because it’s your stuff.
What would your life be like if you had a coach as a GPS system, even just for a few months? How much time, money and energy would you save if you stayed on track and went after your goals with a laser-like focus knowing there was someone to guide you over the bumps and detour you around the blocks?
We can’t do everything on our own. We aren’t meant to live life in a vacuum. So for now, as I did in my athletic life, I continue to work with a number of coaches in areas where I’m seeking to grow and excel. Being coached propels me toward my goals at a highly accelerated rate and helps me to hold myself accountable to the same standards I ask of my clients. Walking the talk, as they say.
