Asking questions about what is important connects us to what we value about what we want to achieve or create for ourselves. Kouzes & Posner (2002, p. 48) stated “our core values “supply us with a moral compass by which to navigate the course of our daily lives.”
It may sound like a simple place to start, but when you really embrace this, it has a profound effect on how you lead all aspects of your life (career, finances, health & wellness, spiritual, emotional). What would happen if you based your goals on one question: what is important about that? Weisbord (2004) stated, “Future dreams come true by acting on our own values today” (p. 100). In current literature, researchers have suggested that the linkage between goals and values is that values congruency is the foundation to goal achievement. Fritz (as cited in Fitzpatrick, 2007) believed that “conflicting values create conflicting strategies” (p. 294). Fritz’s research lead to a deduction that identifying values and understanding what those values mean and translate to in behaviours or action results in more successful goal achievement. There is also a connection to motivation and commitment that lasts over time.
I have three tips that I am embracing and I invite you to join me.
1. Become clear on your goals and connect with why they are important – what is it you truly want to create for yourself and what is important to you about the outcome you aim to achieve? Build a grounded foundation to make decisions that align with what you value most and ensure your daily actions are also in alignment with those values. If you are clear on your goals and why they are important, no matter what comes up in life, you will be able to quickly check in if it’s a fit or not towards creating what you want.
2. Become the CEO of your life. When successful CEO’s start their day, they have a plan. They move with purpose, methodically devoting their full attention to each objective. They have results in mind. Do they answer every call that comes in? Do they let other people determine when to meet, and for how long? Do they run around putting out fires and saving the day? Not a chance. You are the boss of your life AND it's okay to act like it. You get to decide where to invest your time. Go ahead, let that call go to voicemail!
3. Clear the limiting beliefs that may be blocking you in achieving your goals. Beliefs are powerful. More powerful than you can imagine. Basically, what you believe is what you will receive. Moment to moment, create exactly what you expect to see in your life. We are fully responsible for our choice in whatever situation we find ourselves in. You can choose to move towards or away from creating more of what you want. Once you become aware that you are holding negative or limiting beliefs about your ability to create a more abundant future, you can begin the work of clearing them out and forming more empowering, abundant beliefs.
By connecting to what’s important to you about achieving the outcomes you aim to achieve, you become much more efficient. In an effort to make the most of the time you have allocated for certain things, you stop tending to the minor details and start tackling the bigger picture. At the end of the day, you feel satisfied instead of resentful; in control instead of chaotic; purposeful instead of panicky.
Getting what you want and clearing your limiting beliefs doesn't have to take forever. What if you followed a structure that enables possibilities for creating what you want? What outcome do you want to achieve at the end of 6 months? What’s important about that? How might you get that? How would you know you’ve got it? How will you commit to achieving your outcome?
If what I have shared resonates with you, I invite you to partner with me as your coach to achieve what you want to create for yourself and spring into action powerfully.
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