Kicking off a new year might spark you thinking about and setting new goals. You might even continue a few from the past year. Some like to flip through books on habits that help them achieve their goals – such as Charles Duhigg’s “The Power of Habit” or James Clear’s “Atomic Habits“.
If you’re anything like an imperfect human being with big ambitions but always working on things, you’ve probably come up short on a goal once or twice. And we usually reflect after our self-imposed deadline has passed on what we could have done differently that would have helped us achieve our goal.
But what if you could hire a coach right now who could help you with your goals, throughout the year, for free? Would you hire that coach and work with them? Would you do the hard work required?
The reality is that you can be the coach you hire. You can develop yourself into the coach that you need for the moments that are tough, challenging, and maybe even deflating. And building the coach that you need is as simple as personally committing to regularly asking yourself some questions, such as:
- What has been easy about my progress toward my goal?
- What has been difficult about my progress toward my goal?
- What am I doing or not doing that’s holding me back from progressing?
- What’s one small thing I can do to move past what’s holding me back?
Create a routine to bring in the coach you developed and “hired”. Take just 15 minutes weekly to ask yourself these questions, and write down your answers. Before you write your answers for the current week, make sure you read the answers to the previous week – this will help you see the patterns you’re building or stuck in.
What you notice, you can change – and at a moment where the change can make a difference in achieving something you want. Bring in your coach often, and experiment with different approaches with your coach. Above all, try to be a good coach to you – interested, empathetic, and challenging.
And if you want to give your self-coach a boost, I would love to talk with you this year. ❤️
Here are a few related resources that I’ve enjoyed recently and have been sharing:
1 // There’s a drift that naturally happens with goals, and you can be the thermostat. (3 min read)
2 // “This letter is for us all, to remind us that we are many. That we are right for trying. That purpose is real. That making it is possible.” From Jason Reynolds, “For Every One”. (3 min read)
3 // For the relentless achievers, a “public health hazard”, the hidden productivity killer – “Presenteeism”. (5 min read)
