Trust your gut

This summer on our trip to Nova Scotia, we rented a car plus a GPS.  Past experience told us that this was a good move for the sake of our marriage. 

I always remember our first romantic getaway without children when we had to rely on my navigational skills to reach our destination.  We were barely speaking to each other by the time we got there.

Let’s just say that map reading is not my forte!

So armed with our GPS I thought we’d be safe.  Wrong. This navigational tool wasn’t always accurate.  We unwittingly drove down dead end roads, and her slight left turns were really full-blown left turns.  And as for getting to the airport, she clearly was asleep at the wheel, as she neglected to say take a right turn.  

Fortunately by this time, we knew not to rely on her whimsical directions, and were watching out for where we needed to turn.  In the absence of any direction from our automated friend, we used our common sense and made the right move.

The other quirky foible with this GPS was that when she wasn’t sure of the best route, she’d issue a disclaimer saying we were in unknown territory and then proceed to tell us exactly how to get there.  It was almost as if she was hedging her bets.

Truth is I am a nervous driver, so I’ve found having a GPS takes away some of my fear of driving into new territories.   My trusted friend has broadened my horizons, giving me the confidence to drive and travel to places I would have previously avoided.  

I have often compared having a GPS with having a coach, as like the GPS, a coach helps guide you and lends her insights and expertise to help you reach your destination.

Personally I’ve found having a business coach gave me the confidence to move forward.  She would push me outside my comfort zone and helped me realize my goals.  Yet, as we found on our trip, at the end of the day, you have to rely on your own intuition and rather than second-guessing which way to turn, follow your gut.

My advice? Make the most of your GPS/coach, utilize the expertise and knowledge available to you, always remembering that it is YOUR business and YOUR life, and whatever direction you go in, it has to fit with your vision, values and goals.  

And making a wrong turn isn’t the end of the road, literally.  You can reverse and redirect.

What do you want, do you really really want?

Trouble is for a lot of people, they don’t know.  They only know that this life they are living isn’t it.  Or they do know what they want, but haven’t a clue on how to get it.

For some, they are fine just coasting, believing when the right choice comes along, they will just snap it up. But will you know? For others though, they’re ambitious.  They do want to get ahead, it’s just not knowing how to do it that holds them back.

All of which causes a sense of overwhelm which is sadly common.  We go through the motions of the day, juggling all that we have to do, with little or no time to ask ourselves, is this what I want to be doing?

In his book The 1% Principle, author Tom O’Neil argues that we can start ourselves on the right path, just by asking ourselves each day “what is one thing I can do today to improve my life and the life of someone near me by 1%.”

His argument is that by taking small incremental steps we can reach our goals and change our lives for the better.  This way we are consistently moving forward.  He calls them mini-goals which can impact different aspects of your life. 

After getting you to look at different aspects of your life so you can measure how well you are doing, he proceeds to provide you with lists of daily items that you could undertake - simple things like arranging to pay your bills automatically online.  In other words, stuff that’s likely on your to-do list but never seems to get done.

He does caution about not trying to do too much as that somewhat defeats the point of the exercise.  To me this is like the “Swiss Cheese” approach I take with a big project, breaking down what has to be done into bite size tasks that build on each other.

Certainly if you can start to clear away the minutiae of life that can take up your time, then you can focus your energies on what you want to do.

Sometimes that means taking time alone to think through what you enjoy, what you are good at and where potential opportunities await you.  Once you become clearer, bounce your ideas off a friend, one you trust who will be honest with you and quick to tell you if you’re on the wrong path.

Many people have found it helpful to have a coach, who will objectively listen and ask prodding questions to help you refocus and rethink your next steps.

But I think O’Neil is right, the habit of doing one small thing each day will make you feel you’ve accomplished something. Setting a goal to also do something for yourself on a regular basis – a ten minute walk, reading a book, coffee with a friend – can move you forward to what you really, really want.

HEY! IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT ME!

Recently I hired a business coach. Being accountable to someone, having to report in each week sure makes you get on with stuff that’s been on your “to do” list for ages. I have my homework and on the whole, I’ve been a “good girl” and got it done, but not all of it and that is when you have to ask yourself why, what is holding you back?

We reached the conclusion that my avoidance was more to do with my priorities and my preference to focus on activities that excite me. Good to know, and so now we are tackling the project differently and working to involve others in the process, so the outcome is not hinging on me.

In reality this is probably a better approach anyway, as then others have some ownership in the end result, and I get to draw on their expertise, knowledge and enthusiasm to make it happen.

It’s all too easy to think it all has to revolve around yourself, when in reality, if your business is going to grow you have to delegate, you need to involve others and you have to let go. I’m a work in a progress. Stay tuned.