The speed of change can make your head spin. In the past few weeks, we’ve watched the global economy tank, our savings disappear, and thousands of people lose their jobs. How can we prepare for change of this magnitude?
In a world that is changing more rapidly every day, it is now important than ever to take steps to empower yourself for the success you want in your career, your business and your personal life.
Dealing with change can be overwhelming. To be honest, it can be downright frightening. It’s been said that FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real. When confronted with the unknown, we often imagine the worst possible outcome without giving any thought to the best that could happen.
If you can stay calm, and channel your energy into positive outcomes, you will increase your odds of finding workable solutions to any situation to you are facing. Anxiety usually means that you don’t have a clear strategy to deal with your situation.
Andrew is a perfect example of a corporate executive experiencing major change in his career, and in his personal life. By the time we talked, he was immobilized by fear – fear of job loss as his company merged and restructured, fear of not finding another job, and fear of not being able to provide for his wife and three young children.
We began with a simple 3 part strategy to pull him out of the quagmire of anxiety and put him on a path to success. First, Andrew went to work on the obstacles that were holding him back. The most obvious blocks were annoyances that robbed his time and energy, and took up valuable space in his environment. He uncovered obstacles like clutter, unfinished tasks, an outdated resume, a nagging health issue, and his frustration over struggling to make ends meet.
Andrew wrote down everything he could think of that was blocking his progress. Then, for each obstacle, he identified an action step he would take to remove the block. As he dealt with the obstacles, he regained confidence and created more space, time and energy to embrace new opportunities.
The second step in our strategy was to outline a clear plan for daily action so that Andrew could see a path to his goal. It is easier to make progress when you have defined the specific steps you will take. His plan worked like a compass to keep him focused and on course.
Lastly, Andrew committed to take action. It’s great to have a plan, but if you never take a step forward you will never be successful. Andrew agreed to do at least one thing every day for his goal. Many people get stuck at this crucial step, letting their fear of the unknown stop them from moving forward. By taking daily action, you create momentum and positive energy that will move you forward.
Are you ready to empower yourself for success? Use the three keys that helped Andrew get back on track to empower himself for the future: 1) clear the obstacles 2) create a plan and 3) commit to daily action!
