Shall I make a confession…? 🤔 Don’t hate me but…
I’ve done most of my Christmas shopping 🧑🎄
(And booked the panto/ circus/ Polar Express/ Elf the Musical 🚂🧝🎄)
Each year I try to get it done during August, because I know when it comes to September…
I want to get stuck back into work! 😄🔥💪
Is it the relief of routine after 9 weeks of controlled chaos?
…or because my energy tanks are topped up after a lovely holiday? 😎
…or because that sense of “new year” is still ingrained after 15+ years of education? 🎓
I don’t know – but all I want to do in September is throw myself into the joys & challenges of running my business, coaching my incredible clients, and delivering transformational training 😍✨
(And I definitely don’t want “Christ-min” to distract me – so I get it out of the way 💪)
This is an exciting time of year 🎉
We still have a third of 2023 to go – still SO much time to make an impact on your career! 😁🔥
And if you’ve been thinking about making a move, now is the time to start acting after the summer lull. (Quite a few of my clients are starting job searches at the moment.)
So it’s a great time to take a step back, and really focus on what you want 🤔
Here’s the question I’d like you to consider:
✴️ when you close down for Christmas this year, what are you going to be feeling most proud of achieving?
✅ is it having delivered that long-term important project that kept getting put off?
✅ is it recruiting that person who’s going to make a huge difference to the effectiveness of your team?
✅ is it having done your best to get – or indeed actually got – a new job/ promotion/ pay rise?
✅ or is it about having finally tackled the mindset/ skillset gaps that are holding you back in your career…?
Obviously, I’d love to help you with any or all of these… 😉
But the important thing is that you actually CLARIFY what your goal is. As the fabulously named Zig Ziglar says,
If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.
And to clarify this goal, don’t forget to ask yourself the important related question:
✴️ what is going to make the biggest difference to my career success?
(Hopefully you’ve defined what career success looks like for you – but if not, start there! 😉)
❗️One caveat – don’t go overboard with your goals!
I asked my daughter what she wanted to achieve this term, and she started off with a long list of doing brilliantly at her schoolwork, practising the piano every day, being really organised, playing well in all her sports matches…
But you can’t achieve it all!
Not only is it physically impossible – it’s just too many things for one human being achieve 🤷♀️
But it’s also mentally unhelpful, because you’re setting yourself up to fail (as well as putting really unhelpful pressure on yourself) 😩
So keep it simple – what’s the One Thing that’s going to make the biggest difference if you achieve it by Christmas?
(The One Thing is a concept based on the Pareto Principle – 80% of our results come from 20% of our actions.)
Here’s mine. Life and work are both very busy for me at the moment, which is both exciting, and challenging.
✅ So my One Thing is getting Ruth, my Administrator, up & running in her new role as my Business Manager
– having that extra support is going to make an incredible difference to me, my business, and the people I serve 💪
(Jemima chose getting organised as hers… 😉)
Take the time now to clarify this – and when it comes to the 23rd of December when you’re closing down for Christmas, and you’re looking back proudly on what you’ve achieved, you’ll be pleased you did! 😍
Bring it on! 😄💪 And remember, you’ve got this 😉🙌
Wishing you a positive, productive, and CLARITY-filled week! 😄🔥💪
with much love, as ever 😊🧡
Kirsten xx
