Last week I started a series of posts on creating an intentional personal growth plan. This is a critical component to intentionally growing in your leadership journey.
This week I want to continue with part 2 as we think about growth plans, and I want to bring to your attention a component that is perhaps too often overlooked: what’s in the way?
Goals are fantastic, and I highly recommend them. They bring clarity, specificity, and a measurable finish line to the process. But with every goal we have to evaluate what’s in the way.
- If weight loss is your goal, then junk food or a desire to forgo exercise in favor of a nap is in the way
- If that college or graduate degree is your goal, then anything that distracts you from studying is in the way
- If success in your business is your goal, then activities that are not income-producing are in the way
Any intentional personal growth plan has to account for, name, and gain clarity around what’s in the way.
I love how writer and coach Valorie Burton talks about this: “For every goal, ask: what is in the way of that goal? What is the fear, habit, or distraction that is getting in the way of me getting to this very tangible goal?”
What are the fears that you struggle with?
What are the habits that are difficult to break?
What distractions seem to draw your mind and attention away?
If you define what’s in the way, you are bringing clarity to a new personal growth goal that needs to be a part of your plan.
These questions are part of my weekly review process, and I’d recommend them to you as part of yours. I find value in inviting someone else to help me process these fears, habits, and distractions; that’s why I have a leadership coach personally, and why I am a leadership coach for other leaders. As you’ve heard me say before, I believe every leader needs a coach to help them see what they’re not seeing and grow to the level they are capable of and designed to achieve.
Have you defined the fears, habits, and distractions that are getting in the way of your goals?
What’s your growth plan to deal with them?
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