Is Your Ship in Port?

A ship in port
is safe,
but that’s
not what
ships
are made for.

—Admiral Grace Hopper

Take a moment to contemplate your ship of dreams. Is it safely moored in port or is it out exploring the seas? What new possibilities might emerge if you were to live the life you were made for?

Find Allies

Research consistently shows that one of the keys to making lasting change is having support. A true support team encourages our growth and forward movement, helps us to appreciate our progress and celebrates our successes. 

Take a moment to identify the people who truly encourage your personal and professional growth. Is it a close friend, a family member, a spouse or partner, a colleague, a mentor, a coach, a boss or a small group of individuals who are all working toward a similar goal? Would you benefit from hiring someone who has a special expertise and who can provide you with the kind of support you seek, such as a certified coach or a personal trainer?

The key is to create a Circle of Support that consists of people who are committed to providing you with positive and encouraging support, so that you can effectively move forward with your goals and intentions. Your change allies may be wayshowers who have walked a similar path before you and who are able to serve as an inspirational mentor. Or your change ally may be someone who is simply a dedicated advocate for your personal and professional growth and overall well-being. Or there may be someone you know who is walking the same change path that you are and who wants a change ally buddy for the journey ahead.

Enlist a Change Ally Buddy

Consider developing a mutual support arrangement with someone who is also committed to making positive and lasting changes in their life and career. In order to make this work, both buddies need to commit to giving and receiving authentic, growth-centric support. And likewise, a commitment needs to be made to not throw energy-draining pity parties as those will only serve to take you both off course. Make sure that you and your change ally set aside time to acknowledge and celebrate your learning, growth and accomplishments along the way.

Planning To Take Action

Believe it or not the act of planning and taking action steps is easy. No really, it is!! The hard work is saying that we want something to happen in our lives or work and then not doing anything about it day after day after day! That is what really drains our energy and keeps us from achieving our goals and manifesting our intentions.

I once heard someone describe it this way: “If something is hard, you probably haven’t started yet!” And they were right! We usually complain the most about the actions we have yet to take. Once we shift our perception of the situation or task at hand and begin to take action, it usually starts to seem less difficult or daunting.

The key is just to start: take action! And then, sustain the momentum by taking small steps every day.

Nike got it right with their classic campaign tagline of “Just Do It.”

Take External and Internal Action Steps

The third key to choosing actions is to: Take External and Internal Action Steps. 

We tend to think of actions as steps we take in the external world (e.g. “I workout,” “I eat healthy,”  ”I update my client database,” or “I pack the office,” etc.). These external action steps are vitally important to the achievement of our goals or manifestation of our intentions. However, it is also critically important that we take some internal action steps. Internal action steps help us to shift our perceptions, beliefs and behaviors and create the optimum conditions for our goals and intentions to occur.

For example: If you are looking to grow your business, you’ll likely want to take the external steps that will get you out there meeting new colleagues and prospects. You might also want to start positioning yourself as a thought leader by blogging and developing your social media presence. In addition, you might need to take an internal action step to shift a disempowering perception or belief you might be holding (e.g. “It is impossible to grow your business in this bad economy”) to an empowering belief (e.g. “It is possible for me to grow my business now…in fact it is the perfect time for the solution I am offering.”)

Consider asking yourself: What can I do within myself (internally) to support my intention and move me forward toward my goal? What action can I take in the world (externally) in support of my intention and that will move me forward toward my goal?

Get Clear on Your Motivation

The next key to choosing actions is: Be Clear on the “For The Sake of What“:

It is just as important to get clear on the “for the sake of what” with regards to your actions as it is when you are defining your priority areas, goals and intentions. Bottom line, you’ll be inspired to take action if you are clear on your motivations for those actions. Remember, we don’t want our actions to be disempowering “shoulds.” We’ll be more empowered when we get clear on the “for the sake of what” with regards to our chosen actions.

For example: If your action is to “make 1-3 new contacts,” you’ll want to get at the source of your motivation. Is it because you “want to increase your number of clients by 25% this year,” or is it because you “increase your number of referral sources,” or is it because you “committed to getting the word out about this meaningful cause?” The key is to know why you are taking this action.

Consider asking yourself: “What is my motivation for making this change or for manifesting this intention?”