Hey guys, this is my third and final post on a three part series, “Be Your Own Life Coach.” It is inspired by Chelsea Greenwood’s article Be Your Own Life Coach in the March 2015 issue of Success Magazine. In part 1, we discussed identifying areas of your life to target for change and how to set manageable goals. In part 2, we talked about how to work towards your goals and gathering a support network. Today, we will learn how to handle setbacks and six simple steps that you can take every day so you can be your own effective life coach.
Be Prepared for Setbacks
So what happens when you chart your questions as discussed in Be Your Own Life Coach – Part 2 and you discover that you have made no progress towards any of your goals? You feel pretty bad. You feel discouraged. In fact, the next day you simply feel like giving up on this whole self-improvement, life coach thing.
Let me tell you loud and clear – you CAN NOT give up. I need to give you a powerful directive. Do not quit because of an occasional set back.
Let me say that again. DO NOT GIVE UP because of an occasional set back. Self-searching is not always pretty. If it were, you would not desire to change anything. So, do not quit because you did not make progress yesterday. Do not quit even if it seems like you moved away from your goals instead of towards them yesterday.
Self-improvement is a day to day process. At times, you will take two steps forward and then one step back. However, realize that when that happens to you, your overall path is still moving towards your goal.
Now, you may be saying to yourself, “Dr. Pete, in my life, I am constantly hitting obstacles that inhibit my progress. I am not going forward at all.” When this happens, Dr. Marshall Goldsmith, Ph.D. recommends looking at your environment. See if there is something in your physical environment that needs to change. If your environment is hurdle-free, then ask yourself three hard questions that any good life coach will ask you:
- Is this what I really wanted?
- What have I learned from my failure?
- Do I want to go at it again?
If your goal is a real thing, you will want to try again. Success is much sweeter when you have to work for it. Learning from each setback makes you wiser which brings you closer to your goals.
6 Steps to Take Every Day
If you want to be your own life coach, Dr. Goldsmith recommends asking yourself the following six questions every day. They all revolve around, “Did I do my best to …”
- Set clear goals?
- Make progress toward goal achievement?
- Be happy?
- Find meaning?
- Build positive relationships?
- Be fully engaged?
Research published in 79 different studies demonstrate that be repeating the above process for as little as two weeks results in improvement in 88% of people!
I recommend trying the process daily for at least 3 weeks. This is the amount of time required to engrain a daily habit into your life.
Wishing you peace, prosperity, and a brighter tomorrow,
Dr. Pete
P.S. If you liked this three part series on Be Your Own Life Coach, you should check out Success Magazine. If you wish to subscribe to it too, click here: Success Magazine.
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