Here we are at the beginning of a new year…2023. We can finally put 2022 to bed with all its challenges and start turning our attention to a new beginning. I love the New Year. It is like a “do-over” card or a mulligan. I love setting goals and challenging myself to achieve them, especially if they are lofty.
I am in year two of my four-year plan to stand up my coaching business so I can retire from my corporate gig. As part of my end-of-year assessment of my progress, I was surprised by all the things I accomplished towards the start-up of this company. I also have some pretty lofty goals for 2023, you know, in my spare time. (LOL).
As I was fleshing out my strategic plan and the milestones to help achieve my goals, I started thinking about dependencies and impediments. A dependency “describes the relationship among activities and specifies the particular order in which they need to be performed. Dependencies arise in every decision-making, planning, and developing process and are ideally predetermined.” An impediment is “a hindrance or obstruction in doing something.”
I asked myself about the relationships among the activities, in what order they had to be performed, and what was in my power to control them. Additionally, I asked myself whether anything impeded my ability to achieve my goals. Impediments can come in many flavors, like financial, time, educational, capabilities, beliefs, or even mental health. They can also be internal or external.
An internal impediment can be anything from mental health challenges to limiting beliefs. In my previous article, I shared how the living legacy of trauma became an impediment to me because my goal was in direct conflict with my wounded parts’ directive to keep me safe. You may have experienced something like that or had limiting beliefs that made you think you were not smart enough, brave enough, or talented enough to achieve your goal.
An external impediment could be people, situations, or changes in strategy that get in the way of you being able to achieve your goal. Have you ever had someone block you from achieving your goal? Or have you experienced a life event that required your full attention and drew you away from chasing your goal?
If we are going to be successful, we need to ask ourselves whether we have everything we need to achieve success or if there is something else we need to source what we are lacking.
I’ve learned over the years that I don’t need to know everything to achieve a goal; I have to know the person who has the information I lack. As a business owner, that takes a lot of pressure off me.
We all face obstacles in life that we need to overcome to achieve our goals. Sometimes we can go around the obstacle, but sometimes we must blast a hole in the unmovable object and go through it. We can’t always navigate these obstacles ourselves, and there may be times we need to reach out for help.
That’s what coaches do. They walk the path with you to help you figure out the best approach to removing the obstacle or impediment, so you can continue moving forward toward your goal. Sometimes they teach. Sometimes they provide a different perspective. Sometimes they share best practices of what worked for them in similar circumstances. Sometimes they provide encouragement. Sometimes they provide accountability.
As a trauma recovery coach, I don’t lead you on this journey because this is your journey. I am here to support, encourage, challenge, and comfort you along the way. You get to set the direction. You get to set the goals that you want to achieve.
What lofty goals do you have for yourself in 2023? What dependencies and impediments are you seeing in your own life? Is this something you can handle alone, or would it be more manageable with support?
There is no shame in asking for help, especially when trying to achieve something we’ve never attempted. The Bible says, “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.” (Proverbs 11:14)
I received counsel from this verse and decided to hire a business coach to help me get everything set up and running for my company. I am excited about getting started and seeing what we can achieve by working together.
How will you address the impediments standing in the way of your success? I am looking forward to hearing about your journey.
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Believer. Leader. Learner. Advocate. Writer. Speaker. Coach. Mentor. Triathlete. Encourager. Survivor.
Most of all, I am a fellow traveler on the rocky road called, Trauma Recovery. My mission is to minimize the effects of trauma for survivors in the workplace.
