Preparing yourself for change

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/10/2015 (3705 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

You can take steps to bring about needed change in your professional and personal lives but the true signs of readiness are not necessarily the things you do or the actions you take.  

They signs of readiness are how you are able to successfully navigate your way through your self-placed obstacles and barriers.

I have learned through my own journey that there is only one person who can stop you from getting and being who you really are intended to be — and that’s you. It’s never “people.”

I have seen some limiting, self-sabotaging behaviours of my own over the years that now, looking back, make me realize why some opportunities went south. I see this in the families with whom I work as well as the workplace family.

There is much to be said about coaching people for readiness. This level of coaching requires use of the ‘soft skills’ which are often overlooked and undervalued in too many organizations. We know it is the soft skills — empathy, respect, and feedback — that lead to the hard facts. This is no different with your family.  

Soft-skills involve questioning people out of true curiosity vs. advancing an underlying agenda; calling out the goodness we see in our loved ones vs. telling them what they aren’t good at. These things make people ready for learning and growth.  

If we are not really ready for change we tend to move into a state of protection and fight to preserve what makes sense to us. You just simply want to survive. This is often seen and interpreted as resistance to change. But it really is evidence that we are not really ready for this next level.

We lack the resources to help us take the next steps forward. So how do you get ready to embrace what you want personally and professionally? The mini-quiz below will help you identify areas for coaching to get you really ready:

Do you…?

1. Focus on the outcome vs. the steps to get to the outcome?
2. Value more what people think vs. doing what is right?
3. Start. Stop. Quit?

Phyllis Reid-Jarvis is a dietitian and life coach. Contact her at living@ultimatepotentials.com