Posts Tagged ‘personal development’

We all fear failing.  I know I do.  Yet, I also know that without failure I remain stagnant and soon become irrelevant to myself and others.

So how do I embrace failure and make it my friend?

When I make a mistake or fail at something I have done, I evaluate what I could have done differently. Sometimes I didn’t have the right resources such as knowledge, skills, finances or time. Or it could have been a de-railing behavior that leads to the negative outcome. If others are aware of my failure, I ask for their feed forward.  What behaviors did I display that may have impacted the negative outcome and recommendations for improving the behavior.

If it is a resources issue that requires knowledge or skills then I ask myself “who do I know who can work with me to fill these gaps?” If it is time, “do I need to start delegating to free up more time?”

This questioning process of me and others is an active learning technique which I use during my coaching conversations with coaches as well as teach coaches to practice on themselves and others.

The more you practice these techniques, the easier it will be to take on projects that will stretch and grow you as a professional as well as a person. Fear will evolve into a sense of tension and anxiety which are more positive and motivating.  These feeling lead to movement, while fear keeps people in one place like a very strong magnet!

When coaching executives and business leaders, I often discover that although their company has a vision statement, they don’t have their own personal vision statement. So what’s the big problem of not having your own? Well, what I found time and again, especially with older leaders, was that those who didn’t have their own personal vision, got to a point in their career dissatisfied with their life. Those who were clear about their vision felt a lot more complete as a person and were a lot more successful.

So if you want to be happier and more successful, take some quiet time to create your own vision statement. It will help you to define where you want to take your life, making it a more purposeful life. And, it will help you to design your future.

How to Create a Personal Vision Statement

You will need to find a quiet place so that you can reflect about yourself and what is important to you. Ask yourself these questions about the future:

Once you have answered these questions think about if your future picture, vision, is achieved, how would you feel? Feelings are important in this process. Feelings, if strong enough, will drive us to take action. They will motivate and energize us to take the necessary steps needed to get to our vision.

Finally, start crafting your vision and put it down on paper. Make it concise, written in the present tense and put on something you can take with you to reference on a daily basis.

And remember that your vision can change. It isn’t set in concrete. It is a compass to help you have a life that is complete and joyous. When you get to the end of your life, having and following your vision, there will be no regrets.