|
By Chuck Gallozzi A reader writes, "I love the articles you've
written. They give me a very interesting perspective, but I have a
problem getting the ideas installed into my life. There's an
interesting sentence that goes like this: Knowing something but not
doing it is like not knowing it.
So, my question is, how do you implement the ideas into your
life? Do you have a plan to keep track of your progress? I noticed
that some people use life, sports, or career coaches. Do you know an
effective way of self coaching?"
Answer: Thank you for your questions. I'll start
by telling you what works for me and end by answering your question
on self- coaching.
Yes, I have a plan. Plans are road maps that show
us how to reach our destination. Without a map, we're not sure where
we're heading and bound to get confused. There are many different
maps or paths to success, and many books have been written about
them.
I'll tell you what works for me and then you can
follow or revise my plan to suit your personal aspirations. Or, once
you understand how plans are formed, you may decide to start from
scratch and devise your own.
I call my plan, "Eight Steps to Reaching One's
Dreams." Before I share the eight steps, let me say that I love to
ask questions. After all, questions are the keys to unlocking
solutions to problems, answers to dilemmas, and resolutions to
difficulties. Think about this for a moment. You see, answers don't
appear until we ask questions. This being so, it shouldn't be
surprising that my eight steps are built on eight questions. Here
they are:
1. What is it that I
don't like, am troubled about, or am unsatisfied about now?
Does that sound like negative thinking? Well, it
is not the question, but the INTENT of the question that determines
whether it is negative or positive. Here's what I mean. If the
intent of my question was to find something to complain about, then
it's negative. But if my intent is to find areas in my life that I
can improve, that's positive. Because some of our forefathers were
dissatisfied with the amount of time it took to travel over long
distances, they invented cars, trains, steam ships, planes, and
space craft. So, you see, we can use whatever we're unhappy about in
a positive way.
2. What do I plan to
do about it?
Now that I know what I am unhappy about, I ask
myself what I plan to do about it. That forces me to look for
solutions, find opportunities, and become a better person. Don't you
want to be better today than you were yesterday and better tomorrow
than you are today? Before continuing, let's look at an example. Tom
is unhappy with his lowly position in the company, but instead of
complaining he asks himself what he plans to do about it. Once he
asks this question, many possibilities flood his mind, including
these three ideas: I can go to night school and study marketing; I
can explain to my boss that I want to build my career in the company
and ask him to suggest ways I can contribute more to the company,
and I can join Toastmasters International to increase my confidence
and public speaking skills.
3. How can I improve
my plan?
Now that I have a plan, how do I improve it? How
can I make it grander? How can I make it worthy of my unlimited
potential? How can I change an ordinary aspiration into a
magnificent dream?
Why do I take this step? Well, if my dream is
ordinary or mediocre, it's hard to get excited, isn't it? But if it
is a real challenge, a magnificent dream, then I can become
enthusiastic and passionate. And these are the emotions that will
propel me (or anyone else) forward.
4. Am I willing to
pay the price?
Anything worthwhile requires the expenditure of
energy, work, or effort to accomplish. If I'm not willing to pay the
price, I'm barking up the wrong tree. I would be better off giving
up on that dream and moving on to another. On the other hand, if I'm
committed, if I'm willing to do whatever it takes to succeed, you
can be sure I will be victorious. For once we are committed, we can
overcome any obstacle.
5. What is stopping
me from getting what I want?
No matter how committed you are to your dream, you
will probably find obstacles standing in your way. What are they?
Write them down. Once you have, study your list. Now understand that
none of the items on your list were holding you back. It was only
your BELIEF that they were blocking your way that stopped you. Use
Question No. 5 as a wakeup call to remind yourself to give up
childish, self-limiting beliefs. Rather, like Barack Obama, get into
the habit of saying, "Yes, we can! Yes, we can!" And even if you
seem to be facing an impenetrable brick wall, understand that wall
is not there to block your way, but to prevent others from reaching
your dream. Its only purpose is to give you the opportunity to prove
how badly you want to succeed. Don't fail the test!
6. When will I begin?
Do you know what the most difficult part of your
plan is? It is STARTING. Daydreaming about your magnificent dream is
fun and easy, but shifting from dreaming to ACTION requires
determination or firmness of purpose. So, now that you have a plan,
when will you begin? There can be only one answer, and that is NOW.
After all, now is the only time we have the power to act.
7. Why do I want it?
One secret to achieving our dreams is to focus on
what we want, not on what we don't want. We need to run TO our goal,
not AWAY FROM what we don't want. What do alcoholics and drug or TV
addicts have in common? They are all running away from what they
don't want to do. What do champions, winners, and the highly
successful share in common? Yes, they are all running to what they
want. That's why Question No. 7 is important; it helps us to remain
focused on what we want, which are the benefits of our dream.
8. Can I see it in my
mind's eye?
Our conscious mind and subconscious have different
languages. The language of our conscious mind consists of WORDS
while that of our subconscious consists of IMAGES and FEELINGS
(EMOTIONS). So, whenever you are daydreaming, you are 'speaking' the
language of the subconscious, making it much more likely that the
message will get through to your subconscious. This is important to
understand because our subconscious will accept any message it
receives as the truth and will then cause us to act upon this
'truth.' So, if you are daydreaming that you will make a poor
presentation at the next office meeting, you are actually
programming yourself for failure.
On the other hand, when you use the power of your
imagination to daydream about your magnificent dream, you are
programming yourself for success. What is a good way to start
daydreaming yourself to success? Well, a great way to start is by
asking yourself two questions: "What would it be like if...?" and
"Wouldn't it be nice if...?" Let's say Larry's dream is to become a
V.P. in his company. So, while daydreaming, he asks himself "What
would it be like if I were V.P.? Wouldn't it be nice if I become
V.P.?" These questions keep him focused on the benefits and build
powerful positive images and feelings, which will take him to his
dreams. So, don't merely plan your goals, but take the time to see
your success in your mind's eye.
Whether your dreams are big or small, I hope these
eight steps will help you on your way.
Now, to answer our reader's question about
effective ways of self-coaching, click on the link at the end of
this article for the titles of many excellent books on the subject.
But before you do so, here are some hints:
1. To narrow your selection, only investigate
books that have a rating of 4 or 5 stars.
2. Double-click on any title that interests you to
learn more about that book.
3. Be sure to read the Reader's Reviews. That's
where you will learn the most.
4. When you have settled on one or two books,
borrow them from a library or buy them from a local bookstore or
from an online book vendor.
5. After you have the book(s) of your choice,
study ten pages a day.
6. By "study," I mean, as you read the material,
ask yourself, "What steps do I have to take?" And write down your
answers.
7. Apply what you learn by carrying out the tasks
in your "Steps I Have to Take" list.
8. Keep a Success Journal. Use it monitor your
results by asking the following questions, "What did I do right
today? What did I do wrong? How can I improve my performance? What
can I learn from my mistakes? How did I benefit from the positive
steps I took?
© Chuck Gallozzi. For more articles and contact
information, visit
http://www.personal-development.com/chuck |
Eight Steps to Reaching One's Dreams