While most of my consulting work is geared toward group or team sessions, I do engage with individuals from time to time on personal coaching and development. The group sessions are focused on leadership development and team building while the personal coaching sessions are focused on helping the individual grow and improve in targeted areas of their life. The group or team sessions comprise most of my business today, but I have enjoyed those one-to-one sessions.
One aspect of these one-to-one sessions that I find helpful is a simple question that I ask around session five and a simple question that I ask in the following session. That first question is:
What is the one thing that you could start doing that would change your life for the better?
If you were to consider that question, what would you do? What would you start doing? Who would you start investing more time with? How would you utilize your financial resources differently? How would you spend your time differently? The specific follow-up questions and resulting answers are different for all of us. Regardless of the stage of life, there is an answer to that question that we need to not only consider, but also to act on to improve our life. Why wouldn’t we all want to act on something that would change our life for the better?
The key is to just stop long enough and honestly assess the question. Ask for input from those close to you if you need help but invest the time on that question. Once you have clarity on the response, formulate a plan to begin to take the first step toward acting on that item. You don’t have to fully grasp what all needs to be done, but you need to get started. Take the first step toward changing your life for the better.
The second question is a simple one as well:
What is the one thing that you need to walk away from or stop that would change your life for the better?
If you were to consider that question, what would you do? What would you stop doing? Who do you need to spend less time with? Where do you need to stop spending money or wasting time? Here again, regardless of the stage of life, there is an answer to that question that we need to consider and act on to improve our life.
The key is to start forming a habit that will benefit us and stop a harmful, wasteful habit that is limiting the quality of our life or personal growth. I am not a big self-help guy. There are tons of self-help books available that suggest all kinds of improvement theories. I am a big supporter of continual personal development and growth. The habits we form and the identity we create are the keys to continued growth and development.
So, what are you going to do? What positive habit are you going to form? What negative habit are you going to stop? If you want to move forward with a more fulfilling life, take the next step and start/stop forming that key habit.
