Coaching Your internalGPS: How Do You Overcome Obstacles?

Happy New Year!

A Note of Gratitude as we begin the New Year:

I write this blog, along with my coaching, consulting and speaking as a service to you and a calling of who I am. This is a work in progress and your feedback is extremely important to me. Thank you so much to those of you have given me your trust in sharing your insights and feedback. It is invaluable to me.

Overcoming Obstacles – Third in this series, last week was Irresistable Destinations

There are many types of obstacles; it is best to plan for them but then don’t put a lot of focus on them or they may become a self fulfilling prophecy. Here are a few different types that either I or a client has overcome.

Indecision or Ambiguity:

• Making decisions is a key skill to moving forward on your path to success. If you spend too much time analyzing and debating over every single decision you will be stuck.
• See this prior post, “Navigating a Sea of Ideas for Success” for ideas on eliminating overwhelm due to too many ways to go or ideas. 
• Indecisiveness is also an energy drainer (see more below) and will slow you down if you go back over and question your prior decisions. Focus on what you learned and then move forward. Ban regret and worry from your path.
• If decision making is a challenge then work with a trusted friend or Coach to practice making small decisions with confidence (which restaurant to go to or movie to watch) and then move to the bigger ones (which career path to take).
• Clarity will assure you (and your team) are on the right path and making progress. Make expectations and goals crystal clear to avoid ambiguity and inefficiencies.

Distractions:

• I wrote about the “shiny object syndrome” in a prior post (linked). In that post I give several tools for better focus, my favorite tool for focused time is the phone alarm. Recently I’ve benefited from working with an accountability partner. We talk at the top of the hour and then two hours (or what ever time is designated) we talk again to check in.
• Shut off all the sound alerts on your e-mail, text, etc. If you want some additional focus time then shut off your phone completely (gasp). If you like white noise to focus then notice which sounds give you more energy (avoid having CNN running all the time and consider music).

Lack of Energy:

• Managing your energy can eliminate a lot of obstacles. Know yourself. Do you work better in the morning, afternoon or night? Schedule your “thinking” tasks for when you are at your best.
• Use your strengths. Shift into using your strengths is like paddling with the current instead of against the current (see post linked below) and you will make progress much more quickly and with less effort.
• Schedule time for fun (this may be the same as exercise below). Fun activities that takes your mind completely off of your work will give you energy and opportunities for ideas and insights.
• Prioritize your day for regular exercise. Your brain will work better and ideas will proliferate. There is also a direct correlation to better sleep!
• Sleep. Again, know yourself and what you need. Medical advice is 7 to 8 hours for adults but you may need more or less.

Fear:

• I wrote about this a little last week in the destinations post (linked above) and have several prior posts (linked below) because this is such a big and common obstacle. Unfortunately we let fear get in the way of a lot of big destinations because we misinterpret it as danger versus the very human fear of the unknown or fear of failure.
• One of the best ways to conquer fear is to tackle something that scares you a lot. It may not be the obstacle in the way of your destination but the confidence you gain will overflow into your other goals. My month of facilitating in China (post linked) is an example of my tackling a large fear. It gave me a big boost of confidence that helped me move forward on several other goals.
• Keep focused in the moment. Notice when your mind is in the future or past and if you are putting interpretations on current events that are not based in the moment. It takes practice to minimize worry about the past or future; it is worth the effort to make this a habit.
• Keep going forward. There is a Quaker saying, “pray with your feet” that articulates this well. Take small steps to move past your fear.

Prior Related Posts:

Minimizing Obstacles On Your Path To Success

Using Your internalGPS To Grow Your Courage Muscle

Coaching Yourself to Extraordinary Results By Being & Doing Your Strengths

Make it an extraordinary 2011! Share an obstacle you have overcome or a favorite tool for eliminating obstacles in a comment.

photo credit: foxypar4 via flickr creative commons