When ‘Just do it!’ is bad advice!

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“It’s easier to turn a moving ship, but if you’re heading for an iceberg that may be the wrong response.”

~ Chandell Labbozzetta

Don’t ‘Just Do It’!

Speculation about the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 is unending. One recent documentary hypothesized that if the helmsman had not turned the ship, but had hit the iceberg head on the ship would not have sunk.

I don’t claim to be an expert on that particular strategy, but I do have personal experience coaching people who have taken a firm stand on Nike’s ‘Just do it!’ slogan and then sought my help to get them out of the personal or business mess they’ve ended up in.

My advice to you is: Think and plan before you take any action!

Here’s why…

Before You  Deepen the Rut Any Further...

Habitual actions are like well worn pathways for the brain. It’s usually easier to walk along a pathway than over untracked wastelands where you can trip and fall so before you start a new course it’s important to ask some questions like:

  • Will this take me where I want to go?
  • What are the unintended consequences of this course of action?
  • Is there a better way?

This is not the same as analysis paralysis, it’s simply setting aside some time to examine your strategy and roadmap before you set out on a course you may regret.

You probably know someone who habitually reaches for M&Ms or other sugary treats to beat the 3pm energy slump and stay productive… And maybe that person has a weight problem as result of that habit. Many smokers gain weight because they swapped the habit of smoking for the habit of snacking or nicotine for drugs – partly because they didn’t think far enough down the track.

Even if you are starting a positive habit or stopping a negative one, it’s worth asking yourself the questions above so that you can strategically develop your plan for substitution.

An equally important question is:

  • What is stopping me (or has previously stopped me) from doing this?

If you’ve ever tried or watched sports like acrobatic snowboarding or BMX, you’ll know that heading for an obstacle can be dangerous – the faster you are going and the more momentum there is driving you, the greater the risk of a nasty accident.

This is just as true with personal and business growth as it is in sports.

That’s why it’s important to…

Review the Past

Look back at your previous attempts to change or grow in this area and see what you encountered.

In my business and sales coaching, I’ve noticed that people who don’t take a look at their results and outcomes over the past quarter and year before they plan the next one, frequently keep making the same mistakes.

The same is true when it comes to reaching personal goals like exercise, flexibility, weight, career development, skills improvement and so on… When you look back and determine what derailed your efforts in the past, you can often find different strategies or ways to remove the barriers, so you don’t hit them at speed next time.

Every quarter, Alison set herself a sales goal and every quarter she failed to meet that goal. As a result, she was disappointed in her performance and embarrassed when she had to say to her manager, “My goal was $x and I only managed to close $y.” As a result, she was constantly beating herself up mentally and emotionally. When Alison and I sat down to talk about what was going on, it was immediately clear that she never asked herself the critical questions about why this kept happening, she just kept right on following the ‘Just do it!’ method.

We were able to identify the barriers that had derailed her performance and discover ways to remove or work around them, but that wouldn’t have happened without our review.

Review the Past

Look back at your previous attempts to change or grow in this area and see what you encountered.

In my business and sales coaching, I’ve noticed that people who don’t take a look at their results and outcomes over the past quarter and year before they plan the next one, frequently keep making the same mistakes.

The same is true when it comes to reaching personal goals like exercise, flexibility, weight, career development, skills improvement and so on… When you look back and determine what derailed your efforts in the past, you can often find different strategies or ways to remove the barriers, so you don’t hit them at speed next time.

Every quarter, Alison set herself a sales goal and every quarter she failed to meet that goal. As a result, she was disappointed in her performance and embarrassed when she had to say to her manager, “My goal was $x and I only managed to close $y.” As a result, she was constantly beating herself up mentally and emotionally. When Alison and I sat down to talk about what was going on, it was immediately clear that she never asked herself the critical questions about why this kept happening, she just kept right on following the ‘Just do it!’ method.

We were able to identify the barriers that had derailed her performance and discover ways to remove or work around them, but that wouldn’t have happened without our review.

Reset and Remove

Every time you do something you create pathways in your brain and muscles that make it easier to follow the same path again. This means that if you want to change your habitual patterns of thought or action it gets harder the longer you’ve been following your current path.

Your mind is like a piece of paper that has been written on and erased so many times that there are little pathways going in every direction. That’s why a reset is so important: it’s like taking a fresh sheet of paper and starting again.

After you’ve done your review and identified what barriers might be in your way I use a variety of NLP, Time Line Therapy®, and other techniques to release emotional, mental, and physical hindrances and barriers so that you can set out on a fresh journey that is less likely to be derailed by your past actions and experiences. I help my clients do this as well and it’s often the difference that makes the difference.

Without this reset and removal process it can be hard to envision a different outcome, let alone plan and sustain your journey to the goal.

Quest for Your Best

Every day I work with people just like you who are sick of mediocrity and are on a quest for their best. I don’t believe that January 1st is a magical date, but I do believe that having time-based intervals for achievement is a proven and powerful tool.

Actually, I break my year up into intervals and I schedule time each day and week for mini-review and reset breaks because that enables me to catch myself up quickly and stay on track. I also include bigger reviews and planning sessions on a quarterly and annual basis to set the direction against which I can measure my progress and make sure that my sights are set on the appropriate target – sometimes targets change based on life-circumstances and opportunities that arise.

If you’d like to experience my Quest for Your Best process in person you can join me for a 4-hour journey in which we…

  • Reflect on where we have come from and what needs to be learned, strengthened, or changed;
  • Revisit our personal wins and integrate them into who we are and who we are becoming;
  • Regroup and Reset by releasing our past failures, disappointments, and disasters and giving ourselves a fresh start;
  • Refocus on our goals and ensure that they are still sufficient for where we are today;
  • Refresh our plan and design the actions and habits that will unerringly take us toward our goal.

I will lead you through my own proven process and share the tools I use including the activities and exercises I use to eliminate friction and give me a fresh canvas that keeps momentum and enthusiasm high.

If that sounds interesting… Go to https://lifepuzzle.com.au/business-development/quest-4-your-best/ 
for more information and to reserve your spot or take advantage of our special Christmas offer.

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