Are You Preparing or Delaying?
A few weeks ago I was working with a client who had identified a goal that was completely within the realm of possibilities for them. It would just take some strategic scheduling and consistent effort.
Excited for this client, I began asking them solution-focused questions to help get them on the path of making this goal a reality by taking actionable steps.
What they said next surprised me. The client began telling me all the reasons they couldn’t and shouldn’t start working on their goal. Things like, getting their home organized for spring, prioritizing financial security, etc…these things by the way had absolutely zero impact on their goal.
After taking a moment to reflect on what the client was giving me I asked them “are those things really necessary and helpful to you achieving your goal or are those just excuses that keep you from working on your goal and ultimately a safety mechanism to ensure you don’t fail?”
The reality is our brain loves to keep us safe, that’s its main job. So when you decide to set a goal and go for it your brain goes into overdrive anticipating all the ways things could go wrong, how you might fail, how you might look dumb if you don’t succeed.
When your brain is in overdrive.
So when your brain goes into overdrive, your brain begins to engage in the thinking/feeling/doing cycle. Here’s an example:
Goal: Get a new job
Thought: “What if other companies don’t find my resume attractive? What if I don’t have enough skills for a new position?”
Feelings: Fear, impostor syndrome, not good enough, etc
Actions:
Perpetually get your resume in order
Stalk job postings without ever applying to anything
Ask your friends in recruiting and HR to look over your resume
Tell yourself you need to lose 5 lbs before you start interviewing.
You can see what happens here, the core fears of impostor syndrome, fear of failing, and not being enough keep you stuck and spinning your wheels on actions that feel like they’re moving you closer to your goal but the issue is you’re not taking the ultimate action steps that create momentum and progress.
Are the actions your taking making an impact?
I like to think about this in terms of action-oriented tiers.
Tier 1 actions that actually create momentum toward your goal, i.e.:
Identifying a handful of jobs you’d like to apply for
Creating time to apply to jobs each week
Contacting a recruiter
Tier 2 actions that support the big action steps, i.e.:
-Making sure your resume and LinkedIn profile are up to date
-Having trusted friends or colleagues look over your resume and provide feedback
-Contemplating roles/positions you’re interested in applying for
You can easily see the difference between the two tiers, Tier 2 items are the comfortable steps that don’t require a ton of risk or result in you being rejected. Whereas Tier 1 is the big league, this is where the risk increases and your brain will tell you to run for the hills. While Tier 1 is scary, it’s also where the magic happens. By playing it safe and avoiding taking action on Tier 1 steps you’ll rarely achieve your goal and feel like you’re constantly spinning your wheels.
Take some time to reflect on where you might be spinning your wheels on Tier 2 activities but you’re telling yourself they’re Tier 1 actions.
Ready to make an impact?
I help my clients create results by learning to take action on the things that actually make an impact so they can stop wishing their life was different and actually create a life and career they’re fulfilled in. If this speaks to you, contact me for a no-strings attached consult call to see if working together is your next best move.