We are already on week 2 of the new-year and we noticed that last week felt a little chaotic for many people. We often say in consulting that we may as well disappear from mid December until mid January because very few decisions seem to get made between those times and it can feel slow, or as one colleague said “like walking through treacle”. I find myself reflecting on why this might be.
I understand the Christmas mayhem however January sees people starting in different ways. For some it’s all steam ahead – clear goals, renewed energy and a definite sense of purpose, for others perhaps there’s a sense of “I’m not ready yet”. This slight resistance could be for many reasons; energy, health, lack of clarity on business goals and perhaps there is ‘personal resistance’ often accompanied by an intuitive sense that you may want ‘difference’ in your life but haven’t quite landed on what real change you desire. If you recognize yourself in the “I’m not ready yet” camp then below are some resources that might help.
Remember your behaviour in your first 30 days of 2014 can profoundly impact how you perform in the rest of the year!
Resources
| Resource | How it can help |
|---|---|
| Complimentary 30 – 45 minute coaching conversations for new clients. Email your interest to connect@space2be.co. Maximum 20 slots available. | Confidential coaching conversations with accredited executive coaches to help you prepare your business goals and your personal behavioural commitments for 2014. |
| Blog with a free personal change tool: https://www.space2be.co/2013-endings-and-beginnings/ | Help you let go of anything that no longer serves you and may be impacting your energy for 2014 goals. |
In addition, Katherine Farnworth, a Space2BE executive coach and leadership facilitator has shared with us some more thoughts and resources on success and failure:
“If your 2013 didn’t go as well as you had hoped and part of your resistance is an anxiety over 2014 then perhaps this TED clip of Adam Kreek who won an Olympic gold in a team event in Beijing and then sank in the Atlantic and thus “failed” in his next challenge, might help. He shares different ways of looking at success and failure and highlights that the brain is more effective when ‘happy’:
http://tedxvictoria.com/2013/11/06/adam-kreek-i-seek-failure/
He talks of the difference between our ‘perceived’ limitations and our ‘actual limitations’. By pushing ourselves to our own personal limits we will go beyond those perceived limitations and discover our actual limitations. This may ultimately result in a failure on occasion but in doing so we establish new horizons that we previously did not think were possible or even known. Our actual limitations are in actual fact the stage just before we push ourselves to our maximum, where, by its nature, means we can only live there for a short time. Our actual limitations might be a place where we can inhabit more often and so possibly achieve a higher level of personal or professional fulfilment. That idea of feeling truly alive can be a very appealing one.
Another possible benefit of understanding our actual limitations is that it might provide a certain freedom. We would then know what we are capable of rather than living with the question ‘what if’, often deemed a scenario that is a hindering experience.
Clarity is such an essential piece of goal setting and very often the setting aside time to work this out, the planning stage can be just as difficult to achieve as the goal itself. It is important here to understand what really is important to YOU. If we can set aside ‘reflection’ time to do this, it will be worth it. That short-term investment could lead to long-term purpose. In that sense, it can also ensure that our first 30 days of the year, which as mentioned above can dictate to a large extent the pace for the rest of the year, has energy and direction. We are only on day 13, so we still have 18 days left!
Just knowing we are doing something about achieving our goal is in itself motivating. Momentum begets momentum. Once we can make that start we feel more confident that we will see it through. I recently read a book from Ranulph Fiennes, the explorer, called ‘Fit for Life’ (for one of my new years resolutions around improving personal fitness) and he somewhat surprisingly said he can suffer from a lack of motivation himself, unless he has a goal. What he suggested if we find ourselves sitting there wondering what to do next was one piece of advice. He said “Get up”. Simple and straightforward. So even if we are not sure of our ultimate goal, if we are lacking a certain amount of clarity, then make a move, do something. That first step might be the best thing you do all year. As Mark Twain said in his own inimitable way
Action speaks louder than words but not nearly as often.
We hope you have found this useful. Feel free to connect with us at connect@space2be.co if you would like to be considered for the free coaching offer.
Have a great January!
Kind regards
The Space2BE team.
