Goals are something we as business coaches spend a lot of time talking about here at Thrive and for a lot of obvious reasons. The great thing to me as a business coach is that no matter how many times we have a discussion about goals I gain something from it. Recently, Clay spoke to us as a coaching team about determining your long term goals. We are talking about the goals that will take years of sacrifices and trade-ups to accomplish. Goals that require consistency and focus. As I was writing out the goals that I know will take all of that Clay said: “Beginnings are powerful yet people will view them as pathetic”…Boom.
Beginnings are the start of something great. Without beginnings, we would get nowhere. The reason people look down on them is that beginnings look a lot like getting up before 5, missing birthday parties, skipping family events, sacrificing sleep along with other physical comforts, and a whole lot of resistance. People see only that, the hard part, but they do not look forward to seeing that all of that will pay off. They simply decide that when it gets tough and there is no immediate reward to back off take the easy route. They then start to think about starting something else because “oBvIOUslY iT IsN’t WoRkInG”. Nobody wants to talk about the beginnings or the messy middles. They want to talk about the end. The dreams, the ideas. What Clay was stressing during this business coach meeting was that those dreams and ideas are very possible yet so few people reach them because they give up too early. Consistent resistance equals success.
“Beginnings are powerful yet people will view them as pathetic.”
Clay gave us several ways to help us stay motivated through the beginning and through the messy middle. One of my favorites was to bet someone lots of money to meet your goal. This is a tactic that is very effective. I use this a lot with my clients to help motivate them to get their action items done. It always works, I have yet to “win” a bet. Another motivational phrase that Clay used was to “Shut the hell up and take action” while it may seem blunt at the end of the day, that is what it all boils down to. Stop worrying, stop overthinking, stop making excuses, just shut up and get moving. This is a skill that I have definitely acquired since joining Thrive as a business coach. I have always been a planner but almost to a fault. I would try and plan for every outcome and worry that it could all go wrong. Now I just get going, no more what if’s, just action. Because the action is what brings results. Not endless planning and daydreaming. Clay taught that you have to make a specific plan with specific steps that will help you make it to that goal. Not only that but you must also make a list of things that you are willing to give up in order to reach that goal. You must be able to identify the thing, the part of your life that is preventing you from continuing through that beginning and messy middle to the end goal.
