Today I realise that if I don’t post my newsletter by the end of this week it will suddenly become my June newsletter. I am on the case! I also choose to post some ideas here on the blog about another way of thriving in hard times, one I have written about in my newsletter:
People who know what they want can take action to make their dreams come true. This includes spotting and acting on opportunities. During our current recession, it’s striking how much those people who are thriving use the word “opportunity”. What is it that enables people to stay alert to opportunities during hard times?
Carl, like many successful people, is able to hold a vision for the future whilst not knowing how to reach his goals. Carl’s vision is not limited to results he knows he can achieve: he believes he will find ways to achieve his goals.
Carl and others like him are willing to try something and to learn from their attempts. For these people, simply taking action is a success. For whether or not an action yields the desired results, it supplies information about what does and doesn’t work and this in turn can help them to make progress.
Perhaps for this reason, Carl is willing to sow seeds which may not bear fruit until after the recession is over. He knows that the actions he takes during difficult times are leading him towards his goals and this, in turn, provides a powerful sense of momentum no matter what the economic climate.
Now, I confess, I grew up in the school of “perfection” so that, for many years, I found it hard to take any action unless I knew that success was guaranteed. It was a very limiting way of living my life. So, for those of you who want to become more bold in taking actions to realise your dreams I offer the following ideas, which draw on neuro-linguistic programming’s (or NLP’s) outcome framework:
- Step 1: Practise connecting with your most heartfelt dreams, be they business, career or personal dreams. I wrote about how you might do this in yesterday’s post (see Knowing What You Want). The aim here is to feel truly connected with your goals and alive to their possibilities;
- Step 2: Notice where you’re starting from on your journey towards your goals. I especially invite you to view your starting-point through a lens that empowers – rather than undermines – you. Try asking yourself: “what steps have I already taken in my life that are leading me towards my goals?” or “what resources do I already have that are helping me on my way?”
- Step 3: Explore what steps you can take right now that will help you to make progress towards your goals. The idea, here, is not to map out all the steps you will need to take to get to your desired outcomes. Rather, the aim is to identify any steps you can easily take right now that will move you in the right direction. You may want to brainstorm ideas or invite suggestions from others;
- Step 4: Take action! Choose any step or steps that you feel ready to take and take them. Usually, even in hard times, taking action leaves you feeling more resourceful than not taking action, so be sure to notice and swim around in any resourceful feelings you experience;
- Step 5: Welcome feedback! Be curious about the outcomes from each step you take. Perhaps you will notice how well something works and what new possibilities it opens up. Perhaps you will find your action doesn’t lead to the outcome you desired. As long as you remember that “there’s no failure, only feedback” you will be able to welcome whatever outcome you get – it’s just information;
- Step 6: Perhaps the next step is to go back to Step 1, enriched by the experience of taking action and with the new awareness that comes from having taken action. In this way you build momentum and make progress towards your goals.