How to set goals that you feel excited about even in lockdown!
How to get your spark back by boosting resilience!
We are all feeling a little fragile right now, some of us have lost our jobs, we might even need to develop a new career plan or go back to square one and learn new skills and gain a qualification. Maybe we are feeling as if we don’t have the physical or mental energy to do this again. Then for some of us, home-schooling has been thrown into the mix which is more than a little tricky!
For those of us who volunteer or work in the voluntary or health and social care sectors as leaders and managers, we are facing unprecedented challenge and the need for change is putting additional pressure on us. We need to build and develop our resilience and one way to boost this is to have clear goals, ones that we really believe in and want to reach. On top of this, the lockdown is causing additional issues that we need to manage and our home life is pretty uncertain too. Some personal relationships are under so much pressure — parents and children are sometimes fighting about home-schooling and adults cannot find any time to get a break. Focusing on working at home is also challenging with so many people stuck at home.
How does setting goals help me? When I was managing a small team in a Voluntary Sector organisation, it was necessary for us to develop new ways of working so that our funders would be able to see the “distance travelled” for our clients. This was something very new for us but by using clear goals, I broke this down into manageable steps and I believe as a result of this determination and the hard work of the Family Support Service team I worked with, that we were able to show measurable outcomes of the improved mental health of our clients and the change in behaviour of their children too. Goals helped me to tackle something unfamiliar, like a ladder to climb to a higher place, one rung at a time!
Well, what are goals? I think they are like picking up a map, you can see where you are now but you can also see where you want to go and goals are the places on the way to your destination. Can I share my top 3 tips for goal-setting? They are great for your professional but also your private life too:
Tip number 1: “If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never do anything!”
The first hurdle to jump is to realise that waiting is not going to help you set goals. They must be worked on in the here and now. Being in a time of difficulty, change and confusion might not seem like a good time to get moving but there will never be a perfect time. Push aside the issues, what do you really want to achieve? Your personal and career, your health and family goals? Get started right now and deal with issues as they pop up once you are moving.
How can you make time now to identify your goals? What are you waiting for?
Tip number 2: “If you don’t set the alarm, you won’t get started!”
Determination is about making up your mind that you are going to move into change and unless you take action, nothing will change. Setting the alarm for 6 am tomorrow morning is you saying that you intend to get up! Goals need alarms setting — writing them down, putting them in your diary, using an App — these are like setting the alarm. Making up your mind to tackle some of the difficulties in communication and relationships at home means that you can make changes, ignoring it will not improve the problem — you need to start thinking about solutions. You are determined to work on them now, it is not just a good idea, it has become a plan.
What can you do to support your goals and what tools are there to make sure you get going?
Tip number 3: “Get others excited about your goals!”
Isolation is a real problem for all of us, when we are thinking about change and the future, we have some allies around us — people who will be our cheerleaders. If you are experiencing frustration with the children or your partner, letting them know that you are looking for ways to improve things will mean that they will support you rather than tackling it on your own. In my coaching practice, for example, I am receiving so much encouragement from my LinkedIn community, they “like” my posts, they “share” them and they even make great comments too. I can feel them applauding me from the side-lines. I also have a group of people I network with, all business-owners and we get excited about each other’s hopes and dreams. Start recruiting your own “fan-club”, encourage and nurture great relationships wherever you find these amazing people, share your goals and dreams with them.
How can you grow your supporters or even recognise those awesome people you know already who believe in you and want to get involved?
I would love to add value to you on this journey, join my LinkedIn network, message me there about one of the following:
Resilience conversation — you could help me as I research this topic and add value to me (a one-off 30 minute chat for you to share your thoughts and experiences with me) — your gift to me!
Resilience-Building Coaching Conversation — a one hour session where we will look at your goals and you can start the journey — experience solution-focused coaching for yourself — my gift to you!
One-to-one resilience-building coaching — why not take the decision to invest in yourself and take time with me to work on your future goals? Contact me for details or visit my website for details :)
Are you feeling a little curious about me? My purpose is to add value to others through my LinkedIn network, especially people who are managers and leaders in the voluntary and health and social care sectors — to help you to become more resilient in both your professional and personal life — take a peep at my website to find out more: www.juliebcoaching.co.uk
