"The Transition Guide" Blog
"The Transition Guide" Blog
What is your definition of Success?
How to live a coherent life that feels right
Create the future that will pull you forward
If our posture is off, or we have some imbalances in muscle strength or flexibility, we can feel pain. Chiropractors make a living off of the idea that small mal-alignments in the spine create dysfunction. As physical therapists, we recognize that if the spine is not aligned, then pain can result either quickly from an injury or slowly over time resulting in chronic pain. By restoring the spine and muscle flexibility, mobility and length, the spine will return to its proper alignment and pain will decrease and we will feel alive, strong, and ready to take on the world! If you find yourself struggling with feelings of unhappiness, frustrations with your job, or feeling like you are stuck, then it is possible something in your life is out of alignment. If you think back to a time when everything seemed to be going right for you, you were happier then you have ever been, and your career was on a rocket ride, then most likely everything you did in life was aligned with your beliefs, values, goals, and vision. Our values are the guiding principles that reflect the true nature of who we are. Those values might include integrity, authenticity, truth, honesty, and the list goes on. When we are aligned, we are living a life that is true to these values. Living a life out of alignment with one's values, may lead them down a path that can exhibit signs of self-destruction, anger, lying, stealing, depression, and so much more. For anyone who does not feel they are living a fulfilled life, I suggest taking a four-step approach to begin getting back into alignment, improving your personal strength, and living the life you deserve. Step 1: Make a list of the values that you feel strongly about and ones that are important to you and for those around you to share. Step 2: Narrow your list down to the top three to five values that when you look at those words, they make you smile and feel powerful Step 3: Now, look at one area of your life that you are not happy with or where you feel stuck. Apply those top values to that area and honestly ask yourself, "Am I living in alignment with these values?" Most likely the answer is "no". Step 4: Now, ask yourself a very important question, "How CAN I live this area of my life in alignment with my values?" Step 4 is often a place where people realize that things are wrong but don't know what to do about it. A coach can be a perfect addition to your life to help you navigate your challenges, clarify a direction and plan, and then be there during the journey to help you stay in alignment.
Pro athletes have coaches and trainers to challenge them, lead them, help to make them stronger. Their coaches can also help pick them up when they have down times and to celebrate their successes. Many coaches can end up being mentors and life-long friends. In business, most of the greatest leaders have a coach – be that Fortune 500 CEO’s, World Leaders, and even the entrepreneur on your local downtown store. One of my greatest allies, mentors and coaches was my college football coach, Bob Foster. He led our team to repeated winning seasons but for me, he taught me more than I could ever write or speak about. I say he was a “man builder”. He didn’t just give me answers or tell me what to do. He let me struggle to find my answer. He challenged me to push myself to be uncomfortable, which ultimately led to my growth. Had he just told me what to do, I would always look to him for answers. I feel that I am the person I am today from spending 4 amazing years learning from Coach Foster. He taught me about life, personal performance, and teamwork. Running a business can be exciting, challenging, and lonely. It has been said that it is "lonely at the top" and boy at times that can be so true. Not all business owners have a support network they can draw from for support, ideas, guidance, and help. A coach is a great resource for any leader. Consider a coach as a guide, a muse, a confidant, and a cheerleader. Who doesn’t need all of those? How can a coach can be valuable to a business owner? First, if a business is growing rapidly, or an owner wants to 10x their business, a coach can help clarify goals and visions, help the owner develop his or her staff, and strengthen the "Leader Within" the owner to make the growth smooth and avoid those rocky or unpredictable times. A coach can help the owner work through challenges in staff, marketing, or to take a deep dive into the systems in the business to optimize them for growth. Second, with growth comes change. These changes might be changes in responsibility, jobs or position/title changes. As a business grows, an owner will take on different "hats" or roles in the company. This can challenge one's identity or who they see themselves as. For example, if an entrepreneur was the one who did everything in a business to get it off the ground, he or she may have been the bookkeeper, customer service rep, marketer, and janitor all at the same time. A coach can help the owner discover and clarify where his or her strengths are and how to delegate. Maybe an owner is considering a big shift in life that involves a change in direction or maybe even a career change. A coach can help explore different pathways to take, help to discover true passions and a Life Purpose statement that can create a unique path that brings out the passion and fulfillment that has been missing in life. Big changes like a shift in career can bring out fear, limiting beliefs, and those voices that will tell the owner "you'll never make it" or "why the heck are you giving up something good like what you have now?" A coach can help the owner bust through these limiting beliefs and stories that often hold people back. Regardless of your situation in life, if you are feeling that you know you have more potential in your life and you want to do something about it, a coach may be a wonderful choice for you to truly live the life you want to live, and deserve to live.
Simon Sinek , one of my favorite authors, wrote an amazing book, “The Infinite Game” and it really got me thinking about the frustrations many of us face in life and why we might be feeling chronic stress in life and business. Mr. Sinek opens his book with a description of a Finite game vs an Infinite game. A Finite game is one that has clear rules, a clear beginning and an end and a defined winner and a loser. An Infinite game is one that no one can “win”, typically is on-going with no real end, and the players are not clearly defined. An example of a Finite game is a typical sporting event, like football or baseball. In these games, it is very clear at the end to say who won and who lost and what the score was. With an Infinite game, the rules may change as the game goes on, one may never know when it is game over, or who the real players are. It is important for one to take a big step back and use your observer skills to honestly assess what game you are playing. We can get frustrated in work and life if think we are playing a finite game but really, we are in the middle of an infinite game. For example, running a business is an infinite game of sorts, where the game will change from day to day and year to year, but we often talk about how we are the “best” at something or an “award winning business”, but really, once that award is given, the game keeps playing on and on. Profitability is an infinite game because a business can be profitable one month and not the next. Growth in business is an infinite game because today, in business, we must constantly adapt and change to take on new audiences, sell new products, and gain marketing advantages. Yes, we can make smaller Finite games within an Infinite world and that might be the key to having more fun or feeling more satisfied in your life. If you are feeling stuck, or frustrated with your life, try these 5 steps to get a fresh perspective on where you are. 1. Take a moment to make a list of everything on your mind that you feel you are trying to handle. 2. Next, determine if each thing on your list is Infinite or Finite. 3. For the Finite tasks, put an objective measure on it so you can know if you have achieved or when you could achieve it. 4. Next, create a plan to achieve the most important Finite task. 5. For the things on the Infinite list, create a small game with a short, finite goal and it now becomes able to be handled. If you are still stuck or can’t figure out what to do, hiring a coach can be helpful to make sense of a crazy world. Click on “Request a Sample Session” button to get started on a new life of abundance!
