Go Boldly Forward in Challenging Times!
The Coaching Corner Blogs
Times are Challenging!
Many of us
feel the impact of cuts and the increased cost of living. The air of pessimism
that is sweeping the world affects each and every one of us on the local level of
our everyday reality. I know that you were all fired up from your last coaching
session, but it might be that the intensity of work and life is inhibiting you
from making advancement in the exact way you would like!
The good
news is that if you’re feeling a little lacklustre, you can read past blogs
posted on this Coaching Portal until your next session. This will help to keep
you energised and motivated in the direction of your vision. Please do this, as
the blogs help to keep you sharpened and alert to the things you can do to remain
feeling empowered and energised to work through any challenges you face in
between coaching sessions.
Now more
than ever, it is important for us to develop strategies that strengthen our
ability to act with confidence in all that we do.
Lessons from Romania!
At the time
of writing this article, I was on my fourth visit to Romania in the North-
East region
that is the poorest in the country. Twenty years after the end of communism,
Romanians are still experiencing economic, political and social changes
that are an aftermath of this historic event.
Many
Romanians survive on very basic wages, where “working to exist‟ is very much
the norm. For example, where the basic wage for a teacher is 350 Euros per month
and vat on goods is 24%, people have developed skills that strengthen their inner
resources and survival capabilities. This results in them maintaining confidence
to succeed when the going gets tough. I always leave Romania feeling in awe of the
spirit, warmth and grace of the people, of their impressive ability to act
with
self-assurance, pride and resilience.
Through
experiencing the side of Romania that not many people may know about, I am reminded
of the importance of striving to be or do the best in whatever situation we face.
This can help us to maintain confidence in turbulent times.
If "confidence
is the companion of success." we must develop strong self-belief in order to
achieve and accomplish in adverse times. Like the Romanian delegates who attended
the management and personal training courses I delivered, persevering despite the
air of doom and gloom contributes to an improved ability to be resilient and
steadfast. In doing so, we become better able to move through life with
self-control and confidence, no matter what.
Here are
some strategies that can help you to go Boldly Forward through your
daily
difficulties with increased confidence:
1. Be an
eternal optimist: Ok, I know what
you’re thinking – she’s living in cloud cuckoo land! Well, I’m going to set you
a challenge here. It is all too easy to see the negative in any
situation. Dare yourself to find the positive in your challenge. Ask yourself: What’s
the alternative in this situation? What can I learn?‟ You will find something. And
as you regularly focus on being optimistic, this will be your dominant response
in your challenges. How cool is that?
2. Learn
something new: Acquire new skills and knowledge that can take your
life to
another level. When was the last time that you studied a course for
pleasure,
rather than for work? What fresh dimension can acquiring a new
skill add
to your life and therefore boost your confidence? Observe the people around
you and carry out a personal study. How
many people in your circle have advanced through updating their skill-set? How
many have not? Adding to your value of self by learning a new skill will not
only keep you focussed, it can help to position you for maintaining buoyancy in
challenging times.
3. Write a letter: Imagine that you are living a
wonderful new life. Write a letter
to yourself
describing how things are for you now. Explain the steps that you
took to
create this new life. What did you encounter along the way? How did
you
overcome any challenges? What confident actions did you apply? What
would you
do differently if you could experience creating this new life all over again?
Now step
boldly forward with surety of a plan for success!
4. Push
Your Levels! Make an effort to step out of a comfort zone. We
do
ourselves no favours whatsoever by remaining within the tried, tested and
familiar. What one thing have you always wanted to do (that is safe and
ethical) that
will
stretch you beyond your everyday existence? Bear in mind, that you’ve already
set these as your actions to carry out for the next couple of weeks. So Push
Your Levels and Act as if. Embrace the energy of the feeling from knowing that
your goal has been accomplished and let this push you to a new level of being.
5. Create
a Vision Board: If you can see it, you can make it happen! Take some time
out, perhaps at the weekend. Get some old magazines, a sheet of flip chart
paper or a cork board and cut and paste or pin any pictures that jump out to
you. The pictures will represent the actions you will be carrying out over the
next two weeks, or they may represent your short, medium and long-term goals.
Visualise, be creative and have fun! Look at your Vision Board as soon as you
wake up; take a photo of it and set it as a screensaver on your mobile phone.
Then take delight in seeing your vision manifest and become a wonderful
reality. You’ll find that this attention to your intentions, means that you
will start and continue your day with single-minded focus on what really
matters, despite your challenges.
6. Project
your best: This can occur naturally when you feel good about
yourself.
As we get older, we tend to conform to what we think is expected of
us. We tend
not to project our best in fear of what others may say about who
we think we
are. Make an effort to „project your best‟ today. At a conference I attended
recently, one of the panel members said something along these lines: “if you
mean business, dress like you’d thought about it”. Isn’t that powerful? This
phrase doesn’t just have to be about how you dress. Transfer the message to
your actions. So, “If you mean business, apply the effort which demonstrates
that you are serious about it” If people don’t like you at your best, if people
don’t like the new you, affirm this as your new mantra: “That’s their problem!”
7. Spring
clean your life: Identify any dust and cobwebs in your life and get rid!
This could be people, possessions or habits. You do yourself no favours by
holding onto what you know you may have outgrown and that might contribute to
eroding your self-confidence, motivation or ability to carry out your fantastic
actions. Be honest with yourself. Who or what needs to go right now? Make an
inventory of things that you need to release in order to create space for doing
the things that will result in a transformed and even more wonderful you!
Final Thoughts – in Going Boldly Forward in Challenging Times
Going
Boldly Forward in Challenging Times will require your conscious and constant
effort to
challenge a conditioned way of being. When the going gets tough, apply these
strategies that will enable you to draw on your inner resources within and
throughout the challenge.
Remember to
be in touch in between sessions and let me know how you are getting on with
completing your actions. I’m also interested in the results of your going
through the 7 points that we’ve gone through today.
Thank you
for reading and I’ll connect with you at your next Coaching Session.
(c) Rebecca
Gordon
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