We need a sense of calm in our lives. With COVID-19 guidelines regularly changing and the gradual lifting of lockdown, some people’s vociferous opinions and reactions have caused upset in their communities. Peace and calm are needed now more than ever. Especially when you’re managing work commitments and a busy family life.
Calmness can be achieved by creating a plan, a vision of where you’re heading. Try to visualise your future and see what your short, medium and long-term goals could be. Once you have that vision in your mind, you need to map out the journey, plotting the route via your different goals. Much like setting your sat-nav with waypoints before driving to your new destination.
“How do you do that?” I hear you ask. This is precisely what I do – help you to navigate towards your destination or goal.
“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” C. S. Lewis
Lewis’ words were never truer. We were thrown into chaos at the beginning of this year and been through so much upheaval in our lives. I doubt that anyone can say that they haven’t been affected. Although we remain far from the end of this pandemic, many people are trying to create some form of normality. Now is an ideal time to consider your goals despite not knowing how and when the pandemic ends.
If you previously worked in the corporate world, your goals would have been set for you in alignment with your organisation’s vision. You may not be clear on how to set your own goals. Your destination is unique, so you need to examine what success looks like to you.
Setting the Sat Nav for Success
You need to have vision to work towards your future. Coaching is exactly that – future focused.
Until you know what your vision – your destination – is, you could be going in the wrong direction. Without a route map, you could easily take the wrong turning because you’re not sure where you’re heading. You may have an idea, but that’s all it is – an idea. Not a structured plan.
Where are you now? You’ve been through a lot over the past few months and may well still be in a bit of a daze. Just as the Sat Nav needs to know your start point as well as your destination, it’s helpful to acknowledge what your start point is today.
It’s time to try to look ahead to the three different planning phases – short, medium and long-term. The timeframe for each will be different for everyone and could look something like this:
- Short term – It may be easier to focus on the short term for now – weekly, or even daily. Think about how your working practice could differ throughout summer, especially if you have family at home, and how it could change in the lead up to Christmas. What working practices will you maintain? Will you still meet people over Zoom, or will you be making appointments to meet at the local coffee shop the moment it opens?
- Many of us were intending to have a summer holiday this year. Your summer vision is probably different from what it was at the start of the year and yet it’s important to find something that can still be enjoyable..
- Medium term – You may have similar considerations over the next 12 months. Where do you imagine yourself at the beginning of 2021 or this time next year? Back in March, most events were postponed until the Autumn. With strong indications that there could be a second wave and further restrictions, there’s a good chance that those events will need to be postponed again, to the end of the year or even into next year. How will that affect you and your work?
Long term – This could be two years ahead or more. How will things be for you then, both in terms of professional and your personal life?
Guiding Light
Ideally, it’s good to have some consistency to your goals. If you’re not clear about your long-term vision, then the short and medium term goals may not be aligned. The steps you take may not then be moving you towards your desired outcome.
You may also come across obstacles along the path. That’s okay, though – we’re used to re-routing the sat nav nowadays. Goals are not necessarily achieved in a straight line and detours are sometimes necessary. This is where coaching can be very helpful, guiding you along the way and helping you to replot the route map when things go off course.
- As an example, my medium-term vision is that I am “open for business” throughout the COVID-19 restrictions. My start point today is that I deliver my coaching and training online and over the phone. My route map to the end of this year is to continue to do so, giving clients easy access to my services and, as circumstances change, I may supplement my online meetings with local face to face ones when appropriate.
If, like me, you’re the sort of person who thinks better when you have a sounding board and would like to clarify your thoughts, I can guide you to define your vision and route map.
What’s Your 20/20 Vision?
Would you like some help in figuring out what your vision might be? You may already have a long-term goal that doesn’t seem right any more. Perhaps it needs rerouting to help you get where you want to go. You’re not alone! I’m doing this with many of my clients now.
Initially, you may just need a one-off ‘vision’ session to help you with your short to medium-term goals.
Whatever it is you need, let’s see how well we can work together. Call 07766 004964 or click here to email me.