Motivation

“Most of the shadows of this life are caused by our standing in our own sunshine.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson~~

Today I remind myself to get out of my own way!!

I had a great coaching session this morning. I had a client come in who was feeling a bit demoralized about her job search. She’s in what she called a holding pattern… She’s waiting to hear back from a final round of interviews and she was really struggling with moving forward with her search while she was waiting. We talked through some of this as much as we could, and then I started talking to her about her 10-year plan. She really does have a dream, and thinking about it kind of made her smile, but it has no real shape or form. She couldn’t really define it and as such has no idea what it will take to achieve. (I’ve already talked about the importance of a plan… here is a great “case in point”.) As we looked at her dream, talked about it in some detail, and put some thought around how to actually make it possible, she started to get excited again. We talked about what proficiencies she might need to acquire, what certifications she could get, what alliances she could build, and what she could be doing now in order to make that 10 year dream actually possible. ** I suggested she think more about this. I suggested she do some research. I suggested she talk with her husband and her kids to get their input on this plan. I suggested that she graph out what she can do between now and then to really help her get there. And then I suggested that she make it “look pretty” and hang it on her wall! Maybe she could even cut out pictures or take photos of what this could “look like” in 10 years, and remind herself why she is doing what she is doing now. This visual could be just the motivation she needs to stay ON in this job search…

Well, fast forward to one of my favorite sayings, “physician, heal thyself!’

I have a dream… in fact, I have several. And sometimes I lose sight of them. Sometimes I forget why I am working so hard, and I forget what I’m working for! So, today, I remind myself to get out of my own way because my dreams CAN be my reality, and I am worth it!

“Grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, the courage to change the one I can, and the wisdom to know it's me. ~Author unknown, variation of an excerpt from "The Serenity Prayer" by Reinhold Neibuhr

** 10—year plan format credit goes to Linda VanValkenburgh at www.MyExecutiveCareerCoach.com. If you want to talk with a phenomenal career coach about developing an individualized career campaign, I highly recommend giving her a call!