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Listen to Diane and Coach Meg here:
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At the beginning of the year I asked coaches in the Wellcoaches community to submit a list of ten ways in which they want to thrive in 2009. Diane is dealing with some challenging health issues and asked me for a series of coaching sessions to work on her health and life satisfaction.
In our second coaching session, Diane continued to progress toward achieving her wellness vision. As we set goals, I shared with her that a colleague had once inspired me by reminding me that to create change we must keep the momentum going. In other words, as long as we are not standing still, we are changing. As long as we are moving, we are sowing the seeds of growth.
Diane Gains Momentum
Keeping the momentum going is a great way to think about achieving goals, without the pressure that we so often put on ourselves to be perfect - and, yesterday. However, as is common, when Diane began thinking about the actions she would take to drive toward her vision, she was torn between two voices - the voice of reason and the voice of reaction.
The Voice of Reaction
The voice of reaction is the one we listen to when we have finally had enough; when we've decided that today is the day that we are going to take charge of our health and take significant action toward that change. It's an important voice that gets the momentum going and the batteries charged. However, this is also the voice that can lead us to irrational goal setting. When we've decided "the time is now", it's too tempting to start with goals that beyond our current capabilities - things like walking on the treadmill for 60 minutes when we've never accomplished 10 minutes.
The Voice of Reason
The voice of reason is the well-meaning rationality in the back of our minds that protects us from failure but may also keep us in neutral. It's the temptation to think small instead of "going for it!" The voice of reason will talk us out of stretching ourselves beyond the comfort zone and into the unknown. It will keep us on the couch and into our unhealthy habits.
The Sweet Spot
But, a marriage between the two voices is the sweet spot! When we are charged and ready, the tempering voice of reason keeps us from overreacting with a huge goal, thereby setting ourselves up for failure. And, when we've being standing still for too long, the energy of the reactionary voice can be the spark that gets us rolling.
Next week, we'll continue to explore the three keys to goals setting so that you too can find the sweet spot...
