Tag Archives: progress

Bring patience to your path. See each step as progress and move forward at your own pace.

Posted on by

Bring patience to your path. See each step as progress and move forward at your own pace.

—Calm App Reflection

Image from Unsplash by Tamara Manzi

Many people operate at a fast pace in almost everything they do these days.

How fast do you talk, walk, eat, and drive?

What are some of the benefits of moving in the fast lane?

What are the negative consequences of always being in a hurry?

For many of us, our pace is ingrained and set on auto pilot with only modest awareness.

How might a slower and more patient pace of living offer hidden benefits?

Where would a steady as she goes approach help you arrive more safely and sanely to your desired destinations?

EXERCISE:

Where in your life would a slow is smooth and smooth is fast approach make the biggest difference?

Where can and will you bring greater patience to your path beginning today?

Take a broader view of your track record

Posted on by

Take a broader view of your track record. What did you pick up and learn when you fell? How quickly did you stand again to give things another go?

—Calm App Reflection

Image from Unsplash by Nils Huenerfuerst

Just before 7:00 each morning you can find me playing Wordle. I consider it a form of cerebral stretching that helps me warm up my mental muscles. My interest in its statistical feedback is one of the reasons I haven’t missed a day in over a year.

In the early stages of my Wordle-ing efforts it often took more attempts to solve each puzzle. On a number of occasions, I failed completely.

Every few months I evaluate my progress with some grade school arithmetic to get a broader view of my running average score.

EXERCISE:

Where would taking a broader view of your track record over time serve you best? What critical lessons have your learned? What motivates you to keep going when you occasionally stumble or fall?

“In the game of life, there’s no high score list, but you never want to languish on level one.”

Posted on by

“In the game of life, there’s no high score list, but you never want to languish on level one.”

—Jay Shetty, life coach and former Hindu monk

Image from Unsplash by Erik Mclean

I’ve never been a big fan of video games. Except for space invaders and PAC Man many years ago, I never seemed to get the rush of leveling up in the multitude of games and systems that came after.

I have, however, always been interested in the game of life and the pursuit of growth and achievement. Tackling some worthy objective that filled my desire to learn and feel purposeful always had me want to take the next steps in my capabilities and impact.

EXERCISE:

Where do you have a keen desire to level up and build on your current abilities?

How can you measure your progress in these areas with your own inner scoreboard?

One small crack does not mean you are broken

Posted on by

“One small crack does not mean you are broken, it means that you were put to the test and you didn’t fall apart.”

—Linda Poindexter, @PoindexterLinda on Twitter

Image from Unsplash by Johnny Cohen

In professional sports virtually all athletes play hurt on some or many occasions. Aches, pains, strains, and sprains are the price of their efforts to excel. We loyal fans cheer them on as they continue to test themselves and pursue victory.

Over the past two months I’ve been going to physical therapy to strengthen my right knee, which has been causing me some pain and instability.

During my regular visits I’ve met dozens of other patients who also have experienced a variety of physical setbacks.

It’s been nice to see all of them progressing with the targeted therapies and supportive staff assisting their efforts.

EXERCISE:

Where are you noticing a few cracks in your personal armor?

Where and how is life testing you?

How can you acknowledge the champion spirit within that has you continue to suit up and get back in the game?

“We do not appreciate inertia’s power over us.”

Posted on by

“We do not appreciate inertia’s power over us.”

—Marshall Goldsmith, American leadership coach and author

Image from Unsplash by The Creative Exchange

Inertia is the tendency to do nothing or remain unchanged. With the social distancing, stay-at-home guidelines and other efforts to fight COVID-19, our world and our lives slowed down considerably.

What does a typical day look like for you?

Consider your vocational efforts, eating habits, sleep schedule, and level of exercise as places to look. Where in these and other important areas of life have you progressed, stayed about the same, or let the power of inertia have its way with you?

EXERCISE:

Where and in what ways can and will you break free of this force so that you can soar even higher and farther?

Progress is a nice word

Posted on by

“Progress is a nice word. But change is its motivator, and change has its enemies.”

—Robert F. Kennedy, 64th Attorney General of the United States of America

Immunity to Change book cover

Image from Amazon

Change or die.

What if you were given that choice?

For real.

What if it weren’t just rhetoric that confuses corporate performance, or life success in general, with life or death?

What if your physician said you had to make tough changes to the way you think and act, or your time would end soon?

Could you change?

The scientific studies in Alan Deutschman’s 2005 Fast Company article puts the odds at nine-to-one. That’s nine-to-one against you.

Progress involves leaving where you are to go to a better place ahead. It is a nice word, and does not appear to have much drama. It does, however, still involve change, and there are forces/enemies that slow it down or stop it on many occasions.

EXERCISE:

Consider checking out the Fast Company article, or look into the book Immunity to Change by Robert Kegan and Lisa Kaskow Lahey for greater insights into this fascinating topic.

Take The Oars

Posted on by

“If the wind will not serve, take the oars.”

—Latin Proverb

Image of oars


Image from Flickr by Sarah Brabazon

Have you ever been sailing, wind surfing, flown a kite, or even played golf on a breezy day?

What was it like in terms of your progress and level of success when the wind was at your back?

It’s pretty great when we get an assist to help us on our journey!

All to often, however, life doesn’t provide the winds that serve us, and in some cases, the headwinds of life come directly at us to thwart our efforts.

EXERCISE:

Where and on what personal or professional issue is it time to “take the oars” and do the difficult and challenging work that will get you where you wish to go?

The Grand Lie

Posted on by

“Perfection is the grand lie.”

-Brendon Burchard, American Motivational Author

Image from Flickr by ewitch

Image from Flickr by ewitch

Virtually everyone I meet who is exploring a coaching relationship wants to change their lives for the better.

Many experience a fair amount of upsets in their worlds, due to unfulfilled expectations of themselves, and others.

The “Grand Lie” of perfectionism is often a significant culprit for feelings of inadequacy and unhappiness.

An alternate approach – which I have found effective and freeing – is to replace perfectionism with the pursuit of progress, so that when the day is done, what you get done is what you get done.

EXERCISE:

Where is the Grand Lie of Perfectionism preventing you from the fulfilling and satisfying life you desire? Where would the pursuit of excellence and ongoing progress serve you far better?

#111: “Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”

Posted on by

– Mark Twain, author

This quote reminds me of the one about climbing the ladders of life: we must be sure that the ladder is leaning against the correct wall.

As true as this may be, we must also be vigilant, placing one foot in front of the other to progress to our goals.

In my many years of coaching, I have seen some people continually set the same goals and objectives, putting in only modest effort and making minimal progress. In our rapidly moving world, an individual or organization that makes little or no progress often gets left behind by their competition.

Quotes are posted on The Quotable Coach a week after being sent out by email. To get the latest quotes straight to your inbox, pop your details in the sidebar to the right.

Exercise:

What booster rockets, high-test fuel and massive action would it take for you to reach your goals faster and amaze yourself?