Entering the New Year always evokes this refreshed renewal in my soul. I can’t help but want to improve something, get better, make the next year brighter and more joyful. Are you looking for practical coaching tips for sustainable and positive change?
If so, I am sharing six of the coaching tips and ideas we shared with clients last year that not only resonated but, more importantly, contributed to sustainable, positive change in their lives – ultimately shifting their work-life as well.
- Start small: People rarely sustain whole-life overhauls. Change one thing at a time and make it into a habit. Please do it for 40 days, then pick a new one. We fall back into our habits faster than a two-trick pony throws a rider. Humans are habitual. The book, Atomic Habits, will shift your perspective as James Clear walks you through how to build strong habits.
- Clarify your north star: You cannot know where you are going until you have a clear picture of how that looks. Define it, quantify it, visualize it, then write it somewhere you will see it daily.
- Lean into Compassion: It’s not enough to be empathetic; making a difference and helping others takes compassionate action. Our friend, Dee Borgoyn, wrote a fabulous book called 28 Ways of Compassion that will lead you through your compassion journey.
- Grow your connections: Connecting is about relationships, and we grow relationships through caring about the goals and dreams of others, having compassion for their human struggles, and propping them up. Whether it’s work, home, or community, you are in control of your connection-attention to others. The latest, superb book about mapping meaningful connection is Brene Brown’s Atlas of the Heart.
- Keep a Fat-File: A Fat-File is a folder filled to the brim with delicious things others have said about you, referrals, recommendations, awards, and accomplishments. Keep them all together because life inevitably tosses challenges our way, and that fat file will remind you of how you have supported other people. (It’s also great for your portfolio.)
- Develop a gratitude practice: How you see and appreciate the world around you is directly related to how much joy you have in your life. Maintaining a gratitude practice in a chaotic and high-pressure world requires intentional focus. Pin-pointing the little things in a day for which you are grateful, making appreciative observations, identifying surprises, gifts and delights, then leaning into noticing people who have made a difference and acknowledging them. These are small acts that create remarkable results. Capture them, then reread and go back to them. I created a book that you will find helpful, if you are just getting started in developing a practice of gratitude. (And yes, the artwork is mine.) It’s called It’s Not All Strawberries and Cream: but there are some wonderful moments.
No matter how you choose to take on a new year, remember, no one can change everything at once, have love and compassion for yourself and get some small wins under your belt to create momentum.
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Patti Blackstaffe is CEO of GlobalSway, working with Future Forward Growth™ leaders on leadership development, transformation strategy, and organizational governance. Together, we establish a culture of integrity and legitimate leadership prepared for 21st-century digital businesses by igniting the fusion of technology and humanity.
We provide Executive and Team Coaching for clients all over North America.
