Give Yourself The Space to Realign Your Values.
Hi There,
A younger me would be horribly embarrassed right now. Thankfully, my older, wiser self is enjoying a laugh. You see, I spent hours pondering and writing this month’s DRIVEN blog article, reflecting on a personal internal struggle. Long story short, I was navigating the dance between “I’d already made up my mind” and “My values have changed”. The result was me changing my mind and deciding to obtain my ICF certification.
And my laughter? It’s about my lack of perspective. If I’d taken a break from my internal tango and viewed this core conundrum from a wider perspective, I’d have discovered that thousands of people are adhering to similar choreographies.
The Great Resignation, for example, is a reality for many. Ironically, I’m supporting both the employers as they work toward employee retention, and individual employees as they wrestle with questioning their values, past assumptions and future aspirations. Yet, I’d never considered reassessing what’s important to me. I am humbled to recognize that internal redirection doesn’t have to result in something as drastic as leaving a job.
And of course, in hindsight I realize that when we’re strategic, this type of broader-perspective exercise can keep us on-track toward our life’s aspirations. I lapse when it comes to what’s personally important for me as opposed to normative values, or what is expected of me. Interestingly, I’m consistent about this kind of assessment when it comes to work. My Week in Review practice has grown into a monthly recap. I love engaging in team and project retrospectives, which is the ultimate exercise for a proponent of the Growth Mindset. When we give ourselves the space and opportunity to assess and realign, things just go better.
I invite you to ask yourself these questions to allow for little tweaks that can make BIG differences in your life:
1. Are there significant gaps between what I say is most important to me and how I actually allocate my time and energy?
2. What is important to me to be able to answer “No” to question #1?
3. What changes can I make to be able to answer “No” to question #1?
4. What is a first step to making those changes?
5. How can I embed this practice to revisit this set of questions in a cadence I determine?
If you don’t (yet) have all of the desired answers, a Thought Partner may benefit you here. That’s the role of a coach!
As my dear friend and fellow C-IQ© coaching colleague Lyn Christian says, "A truly good coach helps you recognize and realign the full scope of your life— honing your natural talents, discovering values, and realizing your life’s deepest purpose (No small potatoes!)"
If you’d like to consider whether coaching is for you, register with me for a 15-minute discovery call.
Cheers!
-Deborah
Deborah Goldstein
DRIVEN Professionals / Forbes / Linkedin
info@drivenpros.com | LinkedIn
DRIVEN Professionals, 35 Adrienne Lane, Garrison, NY 10524