Article contributed by Mark Sutherland.
Are you an in-betweener? In-between good and great; in-between stagnating and growth; in-between walking and running; in-between not making a decision and making a decision.
When I was coaching international athletes the very worst place was 2nd or 1st loser. It was gutting not to get the gold. When you have had a taste you want more.
In business the worst place to be is in-between. In my experience so many businesses and so many business owners are stuck in-between not achieving their business goals
and achieving them. They haven’t yet found the tipping point or reached the tipping point. They just keep on hoping it will show up.
So how do you move away from the in-between acid bath? The answer to this is a one word answer – DECIDE! Decide that you want to move forward and then get on with it. The single greatest mental blockage is the ability to decide. Too many people are scared to make a decision because they want certainty that what they decide will work. In fact they carry out a self-fulfilling prophecy because when they make a decision they immediately go to the negative about the outcome.
Typical negative thoughts are – it will be too hard, cost too much, haven’t got enough resources, to many other people are doing it, my staff won’t buy in, a meteor will hit the earth or a flying pig will land on my head and kill me.
The in-betweeners dilemma – to go forward or stay behind or make myself a nice little comfort zone in the middle.
As a peak performance coach there is only one answer ‘decide to go forward and stop being an in-betweener’!
HOW can you go forward? 5 little words!
Clarity – be clear about what you want to move forward to and visualise this.
Specificity – write down the specifics of what you see in your mind as you go forward including the positive things that will happen to you.
Capability – value your own personal capabilities and then decide on what other capabilities you need to source through coaches, contractors and specialists. Everything is out there, you just need to identify it and ask for it. Sure it might cost you money but that is what budgets and forecasts are for.
Simplicity – whatever you do make sure it is simple – no sophistication or complexity. The basics work. Keep in mind that ‘excellence is doing the basics better than before everyday all day in every way’
Discipline – there is no escaping this one and ultimately this is the one that can trip you up. Discipline means staying on task – or being a disciple to the plan. To stay disciplined ask this question regularly – “is what I am doing a return on investment activity or a distraction?” If it is a distraction get more disciplined and stay on task. Set your plan and follow it.
NO MORE IN-BETWEEN – Peak Performers are never in-between they are always moving forward, sometimes slowly and sometimes fast but they never stagnate – they make decisions and then get to work.
Check the Weekly Motivator at www.peakperformanceinsight.com
