So many of us are not living to our potential. We may be unhappy and stressed with many aspects of our life including our jobs, careers, relationships, responsibilities, work/life balance, health. We don’t need to keep living like this. The only person who is telling you to live like this is you. The only person who is holding you back from living to your potential is you. And Only You Can Change This. Take action now and create goals with CBT coaching techniques by Samantha Bennett, Coach and Psychological Therapist.
Hello and welcome to a five part series on stress which aims to help you to live to your potential.
• Week 1 –Take The Stress Quiz
• Week 2 – Finding Meaning In Your Life
• Week 3 – Living Without Conflict
• Week 4 – How To Live A More Fulfilled Life
Week 5 – Today we are going to Take Action Now. We are going put our goals into action, troubleshoot obstacles and review our progress to keep moving towards our goals.
I hope you will get a lot out of this series. Please get in touch with any comments.
To get the most out of taking action today I would encourage you to complete the exercises from the past four weeks, links are above and then join us for part 5 take action now.
Plunge into Action
There will never be a better time than right now. Yesterday is in the past and tomorrow will always be in the future. This is the present moment and you have the ability to take action now. You can spend your whole life planning and waiting for a moment to come that may never arrive. Take control of your own life now by being true to yourself and start living your goals today.
If you have completed the past four week’s exercises you have learnt which areas of your life are causing you stress, you have discovered your personal meaning and how to live truly you, you have pinpointed the conflict between how you are living now and how you want to be living, you have transformed your meaning into personal goals. Now is the time to put these goals into action and live to your potential. Your choices today will change your tomorrow.
Goals with Actions
Look at your goals you set last week. You will have goals for next month, next year and in five years time. Make sure they are SMART – specific, measurable, attractive, realistic and time framed. Start by taking one or two goals for next month and break them down into the specific actions required to reach each goal. Write down step by step exactly what you need to do. Include as much detail as possible. Write down exactly when you are going to complete each action. Be specific. Now write down any obstacles you might encounter for each action. Write down anything that might in get your way of completing each action. Think of ways to manage these difficulties. Write down potential solutions. This is brainstorming so write down as many solutions as possible even the ones that sound silly to you. There are no silly answers.
Next take the goals for one year’s time and do the same in as much details as possible. Again do the same for the five year goals. If you can try to break down your five year goals into actions, potential obstacles and solutions. Is there anything you can do today to start working towards your goals for next year or goals for five year’s time?
Here is a goal and an action list from a previous client
Goal for one month’s time – I want to have spoken to my manager about promotion and future opportunities within my current role.
Actions
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Email my boss to arrange a meeting – Complete by 4pm today.
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Prepare for meeting by writing out what I want to say and send agenda to my boss ahead of meeting. Compete by tomorrow.
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Attend scheduled meeting with my boss. Complete by end of month.
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Follow the agenda for the meeting and ask my manager for a promotion/future opportunities. Ask for a deadline for the decision to be made. Complete by end of the month.
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Follow up the meeting with an email with the agreed deadline date for a decision. Complete by one week after meeting.
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Follow up on the deadline date by email. Compete by that date.
Obstacle 1 – My manager can’t meet with me this month. Solutions – Request a meeting next month. Send email outlining why I want to meet. Have the meeting over the telephone or web chat.
Obstacle 2 – I am too nervous to speak honestly with my manager. Solutions – Write it all out. Practice the conversation with my partner. Email the main points ahead of the meeting so it is already out in the open. Have the meeting over the telephone or by email.
Obstacle 3 – My manager says no straight up to the promotion or future opportunities. Solutions – Ask if there are any jobs coming up in the company that would be suitable for me. Look for a new job.
Obstacle 4 – My manager doesn’t adhere to the deadline date. Solutions – Email and make follow up telephone call. Ask for support from HR department. Look for a new job.
Don’t stop there. Keep reviewing and don’t lose sight of your potential.
So many people don’t reach their goals because they got lost along the way. It is so important to keep working on your goals, revising them, reviewing your actions. It is a journey. If you keep going you will get there. Live your life true to yourself and you will live a more fulfilled and happier life with less stress.
This series has been a very short introduction into living to your potential and reducing the stress in your life. If you would like to continue this work with a coach one to one, I am available to give in person sessions in Edinburgh, Scotland and video and telephone coaching sessions to further afield. Please get in touch via email and I can book you in for your first free no obligation session. Email me here
I will be back with a new series in the New Year. Until then happy holidays.
With thanks to Luke Bennett Photography for this week’s feature image.