There is this amazingly simple approach used in coaching called GROW and many people use it to help them make changes in their lives, changes they always wanted to make but find difficult or about which they are constantly procrastinating. Count me in here, I am very slow to make changes, especially when they are associated with habits deeply embedded in my daily life such as impulse shopping on the internet, that’s a really difficult one for me! We all have some area of our lives that we would like to change, it might be how we react to another person, an addiction (see above!), personal behaviours we might like to improve such as time wasting (see above again!), or passive behaviour such as not being able to say no, and taking on too much only to find that we cannot deliver on our promises and we start to leave people down, again. I conduct quite a lot of coaching and training in the general area of time management, and my approach, whether working one-on-one or in groups, is always personal because time management is about the person, their thinking, habits and behaviour.
You can change, on your own or with the support of another person such as a friend or a Coach, using two methods that really, truly and genuinely do work. I have real examples (testimonies available) in areas such as: a new career path; improved relationships; healthy weight and fitness; resolving conflict; achieving life/work balance; making the right decisions; increasing optimism and positive thinking; getting more of the right things done; giving and receiving feedback; increasing assertiveness and confidence; influencing and being persuasive; facing fears such as making public presentations….
So, here’s the first method, how to GROW your own goals and make changes that last (I will come back to you with the second method, one supports the other, in my next Blog Post):
G – establish the goal, the outcome, what it feels and looks like
R – take a really good, hard, objective look at the current reality, what are things like right now, how does it feel – enlist the help of a good friend or Coach to help you think it out
O – explore all the options, both those that are possible and those that are not; and narrow them down to what may be realistic – again, the help of a friend or Coach, who won’t advise, but will help you think, can be invaluable
W – identify what you will do, what are you truly motivated to do now, what one step forward you will take, today. Explore here any obstacles or barriers that might prevent you from moving forward, including also, what and whom, you will need to support you in getting there.
It is quite a simple process, it is how you plan a journey: first, you decide where you are going (Goal), then you establish where you currently are (Reality). Then you explore various routes and methods for getting (Options) to your destination (Goal). Finally, you decide on whether you are really committed to making the journey and are prepared for the obstacles that you could meet on the way, including how to get around them (Will).
The type of thinking and behaviour that go hand-in-hand with growing your goals, are explored in my previous Blog Post: worth a look I’d say as it’s again all only common sense; as sometimes we look for something very complex to help us when really it’s simply about looking inside ourselves for the answers that are already there and giving ourselves a chance to move forward.
Very best wishes for Spring shoots that grow and blossom all year!
Anne Marie
Anne Marie Crowley, based in Cork, is a free-lance Coach and Trainer in the field of behavioural change for individuals and business. Anne Marie is the founder of Crowley Personal and Business Change.
This is really inspiring…Well done..I very much enjoyed!
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