It’s Time for a Change- What's really HOLDING YOU BACK?
We all get that unique question that pops up in our heads before the New Year arrives. You know the question; what would I like to change professionally, personally, or in my business or organization? It’s a natural progression to think about a do-over, a new start, or a fresh perspective, right? Yes, to some degree but hear me out on this.
The graph below depicts the percentages of the top New Year’s resolutions for 2022.
As you can see, the first three resolutions are focused on personal improvement. Sixty-four percent of those surveyed want to improve their health by living healthier, losing weight, or through personal improvement to increase overall happiness.
These kinds of resolutions are prevalent in western culture and are not usually kept for the long term.
But what if there’s something else sabotaging our efforts to make lasting change that moves us closer to the outcomes we want in our lives starting in the 2023 New Year?
“The fears we don’t face become our limits. ”
While the word fear encompasses a multitude of different reactions we can have in different situations like fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of embarrassment, and fear of criticism, it’s important to find out what is driving this strong and overwhelming emotion.
What if I were to tell you there is hope in overcoming the obstacle of fear when it comes to moving closer to our goals, dreams, and objectives?
There’s a coaching term that we use in situations when a coaching client is presented with an obstacle preventing the next step toward success. It’s called a limited belief.
In order to explain, I’d like to give an example from a recent coaching client. The client was promoted to a new position within their organization and received negative feedback within the first three months from the CEO about the performance of the team.
Since this was a new and growing area of the organization, the initial processes with the set-up were less than optimal which caused delays affecting the productivity of the team.
My client knew what he needed to do but was paralyzed by fear to move forward. Underneath his fear were his limited beliefs.
In order to move forward, the client had to identify and challenge the limited beliefs he had about his potential as a leader for success in this situation and identify the specific fear it created.
By asking introspective coaching questions about the validity of his fear of failure, the client started to understand there was a limiting belief about having to make a difficult decision.
Do you think anyone else as a leader has been in the same situation you are in right now? What are two action steps you can take to move this situation in a more positive direction?
We manage the fear and illuminate the false limiting beliefs.
The true power of the client in the coaching process is to be open and responsive to the coach’s questions that direct them through the fear and challenge their limiting beliefs.
