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Six Ways Greater Clarity Will Help You Move Forward
It is one month into the New Year. Where do you find yourself? Has the momentum worn off or slowed down since you wrote your goals for the coming year(s)? Are you stuck in a fog and having difficulty getting into action? Have you fallen off the balance beam?
It happens. What can you do to get back on track? In his book, Get Out of Your Own Way, Robert K. Cooper, Ph.D. gives six strategies which will keep you moving forward with greater clarity and deeper purpose.
1) Chase your own dreams, not someone else's. You've heard the stories of men and women who became doctors only because it was their parents' dream. Or, the offspring who joined the family business because it was expected of them to carry on the family name. Your desires and dreams are unique to you alone. It is up to you to identify what they are and then chase them. Do not allow others' aspirations for you to interfere with your own. After all, it's your life. Make sure you are chasing your own dream and the momentum will follow.
2) Override impulses with character. The struggle between instant and delayed gratification can rob you of the satisfaction of reaching your goals. When you want something "right now" and use your energy and/or resources to chase it, you take your focus away from the steps necessary to achieve your long range dreams. These are the ones you have identified will bring added meaning to your life. Hang in there for the longer haul and appreciate the joys of each step you take along the way.
3) Make sure your heart's into it. If it is not, you will stumble along in the fog. You must feel the passion for what it is you want. Otherwise, you will make it so much more difficult to reach your goal(s) and you won't have much fun along the way. Use your heart, gut, and instincts to move forward with greater clarity and deeper purpose.
4) Pick something that can't be done and do it immediately. Stop listening to the naysayers around you - they always have a reason why your dreams won't come true - and do something that will show them you have what it takes to achieve success. Take one action step today!
5) To win big, skip the trophy. Are you out just for the prize or is something deeper driving you? Be honest. "Choose the challenges that live inside you and reflect your unique self, not just the ones that might bring you a bit of hardware to polish for the rest of your days," says Cooper. Become clear on your driving forces and momentum will follow.
6) Turn feedback into feedforward. Take your failures and advice/suggestions from others, books, and/or mastermind groups, and use them to your advantage rather than to your defeat. "Be a learner, not a knower," says Cooper. Learn what your next step must be and then do it. Use the insights from your feedback to move forward.
Get out of the fog and use your greater clarity as a catalyst, giving you the momentum to reach your full potential.
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