I believe this is where goal setting along the journey to mastery or success comes into its own . For example , the ‘ day dream ’ aspiration could be to do a multi-day expedition in the wilderness ; if you believe it ’ s unachievable , it is . Instead , if it becomes the ‘ dream ’ and goal setting happens in the short and mid-term , there ’ s a continued path and progressions to follow .
The short and mid-term goals need to be achievable and realistic to feel like you ’ re on the right path to mastery .
DO OR DO NOT ; THERE IS NO TRY ! YODA
It ’ s not the getting things wrong that are damaging ; it ’ s how we act following it . If we give up , it ’ s a failure to learn from it and carry on it ’ s experience ! The notion of trying can have negative connotations , “ I tried ” feels quite final , almost a softer way of saying “ I failed .” Although less final , “ I ’ m trying ” can still become negative as it can add the feel of it becoming a chore or hard work to complete . This example here often gets termed as a closed mindset , and it ’ s this that ’ s built in the possible fear of failure .
“ Not achieved yet , next time I ’ m going to apply …” or “ to achieve this I ’ m going to do …” Although these examples are probably more readily associated with being successful at a qualification assessment , this growth mindset can still be applied to personal performance ; a growth mindset will only flourish if backed up with positive self-talk . For example , “ I swam because my roll failed ” could be changed to “ I fell in here , next time I ’ ll take this line or put in this key stroke .”
MENTAL CLUTTER
Some keep their houses squeaky clean and aren ’ t comfortable in un-tidiness ( think Monica Gellar , Friends ), and others are happy in an environment that ’ s well lived in ( think Steptoe ’ s yard ). The above notion of experience over failure , as mentioned , can encourage lots of drive to succeed in your chosen goals ; however , these experiences can leave their mark . These marks can become the mental clutter , positive or negative reminders to certain environments or experiences .
The more marks there are , potentially the more they need addressing , I say potentially because some people are naturally able to ignore the clutter , and some aren ’ t ( and that ’ s ok ).
Coaching tip … Dare I say it , agreed goal setting can make your life as a coach a lot easier . It encourages ownership of learning with both coach and learner . As mentioned , aspirations can be significant , but the goal-setting needs to be realistic , achievable and agreed upon . This involves learning as much about the learners as possible , no point in putting together an action plan to achieving a goal if life commitments haven ’ t been factored into the plan .
ThePADDLER
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