The Move that Matters Most is the Next One. Only If You Know Your Purpose.
Have you ever been at a crossroad – whether you are planning a shift ahead, in the midst of an unintended change or in an open space of curiosity, or figuring out new ways of doing things?
I have been there, all of it at different phases of my life. Each time wondering what’s next. It’s hard to navigate or move if you have no compass. But thankfully being a learner, I have attended many workshops, built my network of coaches I could go to for support and to bounce off ideas.
According to Dick Sutphen “Reinventing Yourself“: “If you’re not happy with the way it is, reinvent yourself!”
- Decide clearly what you want. Set self-contained goals.
- Discover what trap is blocking you. You can’t change what you don’t recognise.
- Rise above the effects/negativity of it.
- Choose wisely between realistic and unrealistic behaviour.
- Make the time and exert the effort. Remain determined, with self-discipline.
- Remain focus on who and what you are becoming. You create yourself by how you invest your energy—organise your time and efforts around your higher priorities.
- Always act in ways that support your self-esteem, as you can only attract into your life what you feel worthy of.
The key challenge in this whole process is deciding clearly what you want and discovering the trap that is blocking you.
The Move that Matters Most is the Next One…Only If You Know Your Purpose.
Here’s the 4 things I have learnt on the way to finding my compass
(1) Reflect on what drives you
Don’t let go of the past without learning anything from it. What keeps you energised and awake at night? What do you want to do more of? What do you want to do less of?
These questions help up frame your thinking. It’s good to connect the dots backwards to understand yourself better. For me, I love solving problems and am good at connecting the dots. All these has to do with intellectual stimulation. These drive me. I am a learner. One way to learn is by talking to people. Because of my role, I have gotten used to human connections and I thrive when working in teams where ideas spark. So knowing these helps me avoid where I would be heading. For example, being in a routine role with repetitive steps bored me to death.
(2) Understand your talent and leverage
If you have spent years honing your skills, and you are really good at it, don’t let it go. Build on it or repurpose it. For example, I am good at marketing, so naturally branding myself is not a problem. As a marketer, I also find creative ways to coach my clients, helping to position themselves as thought leaders to lift off their business or career.
I have been leading teams, so as a certified leadership coach, I have real world experience to share and I understand context. So when I make my next move, I will find my leverage.
(3) Connecting with (the right) people
People can give you fresh perspectives or can confuse you. The latter happens when you are not sure where you are heading. But once you know your compass, you will be intentional about connecting with the right people. As you listen to different perspectives it can spark new ideas and with where you are heading, you can connect the dots too.
(4) Test and learn
I have always advocate taking (calculated) risks. And I get asked “is taking risk only for the privileged?”. The answer to that is no. Everyone takes risk according to his own risk appetite. The idea is to understand the strategic trade-offs for the risk. For example, quitting a job without a job when you are the sole breadwinner and you need to put food on the table – this is irresponsibility. Taking a risk to set up a side hustle and investing a small amount to see if that works may be a risk worth taking. This approach is called a “low cost probe”. As the saying goes “Not taking a risk is a risk. Understand the opportunity trade-off.”
Conclusion
What I have shared with you is the “HOW”. Before you get there, you need to find your “WHY”. So I will be facilitating a private half-day workshop to help you find your why. If you are keen to find out more, reach out to Adeline!
About the Author
As an experienced Marketer and Business Executive, I help startups/scale-up to build their brand and scale across Asia. Adeline is also a leadership coach and she works with Business Leaders and teams to build a high trust culture and human capability.
A newly minted Author of “REINVENT 4.0 – The Keys to Unlock Success and Thrive in Uncertainty”, I am also a REINVENT Coach.
Adeline helps clients and solopreneurs
- find their niche and uniqueness
- shape their personal and business strategy
- position and brand themselves
- improve their leadership skills to lead and grow their business as they chart a new career and life path.
Here’s a link to Adeline’s book.
