“I’ve been waiting, such a long time…” Most Irish people and Eurovision fans will recognise the song line from the guy in the white suit… but what are you waiting for?
If you’re looking to make change in your life, and have been waiting to get the timing just right, how long more are you going to wait?
Maybe you want to change jobs, or get promoted, or get home before the kids bedtime… maybe you want to get fit, record an album, start a business, write a book… but then get caught up in the day to day stuff and another year rolls by before you know it.
We may know vaguely what we want to change, but don’t have much clarity on it – and the most important things when making any change are
- Knowing exactly what it is you want to achieve
- Believing that it is possible
- Taking action
Let’s take the first one…
If you want to make a move forward in your career or business – you need to be really clear and specific about what you want. The clearer you are, the easier it will be to figure out how to get there. The following questions can help…
- When you have made this change what will be different about you and your life?
- What companies or clients do you want to be working with?
- What role or service or value can you deliver either in your current organisation or elsewhere?
- What skills and resources do you have that you can use or want to develop?
- How will you know if you’re making progress in this area this year?
The second point is about believing it and committing to it – it’s one thing to want it and be clear about it – but do you really believe it’s possible?
“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right!”
Getting clarity at the start on what you want can really help with the belief bit – when you can visualise the change you want more clearly, you can believe it more easily.
Thirdly, if you’ve been waiting and putting things off – it’s useful to write a list of what you’re waiting for – some of these things are practical and pragmatic, some can easily be addressed, but when you see them all written down, it’s likely you’ll find that all of the ducks will never be in a row, all the planets never perfectly aligned, so you may be waiting forever!
Maybe you’ve never talked to anyone about the change you’re planning – perhaps you can share your thoughts with someone you trust – we often keep things to ourselves and this can be a way of avoiding action!
So what are you waiting for?
If you want to make new things happen in 2015 – get clarity – get commitment and get cracking!
Liz Barron - Realize Coaching 