The Simple Secret to Reaching Your Goals
Goals are a beautiful thing. When you have a goal, you have a direction in life. But reaching that goal can be tricky. Research reveals the simple secret to reaching your goals – coaching.
Are you dreaming of waking up each day filled with energy? Would you like to stress less? Maybe you’re looking to beat procrastination, up your creativity or boost your self-esteem? You know that setting goals is smart but it can feel a bit overwhelming at times, too. In fact, sometimes you might even get a little tired of your goal.
The goal was there – the follow-through wasn’t
I had a goal of reducing stress. All the usual – work less hours, be okay with imperfect deliverables, stop procrastinating about the difficult but important things, stop being so frazzled and busy all the time. Stress reduction and balance were always the goal, but in the day-to-day no progress was made.
Then late one night in front of the laptop did it. The word fell like a hard stone, and the resolve with it: Enough. Enough of wanting to achieve balance. Enough of starting next week. Enough of one day. The journey towards reaching the goal would start now.
I wrote down my goal, plain and simple. Then I created a long list of small, doable actions and habits that would take me closer to that goal. I figured out a few times per day when I’d deliberately do one of my small actions. And most importantly – I shared my goal with a few friends.
Sharing – the simple secret to meeting your goals
Sharing is one of the most wonderful parts of being human. Think about how it feels to tell a friend about your exciting road trip plans, or share good news with your co-workers. When you share your goals with someone, you become accountable for them. You’ve declared your intentions, which gives you even more motivation to make the change you want to make. Telling someone about your goals is thrilling. It makes them real, tangible. It’s no longer a one day dream. It’s a real change that you are making happen in your life.
When you share your goals with someone, you become accountable for them.
What made me eventually successful in reaching my goal was sharing it. Saying it aloud made it come real, and most importantly: I was accountable. On the days when I didn’t feel I had the energy to take a small step towards my goal, the one thing that kept me going was knowing that two of my friends would follow up with me. That someone else besides me cared, and that they were rooting for me.
Practical actions + real support = sustainable change
At Hintsa, we believe that significant improvements in performance are the result of practical steps and decisions. Real change takes time, so we don’t believe in selling quick fixes. We create a personalised plan for each individual and break down their goals into small steps towards sustainable change. But we know we can do more. So we dug into the research: What truly helps people stick to and reach their goals? The research confirmed our personal experience – sharing your goals.
A coach becomes like a trusted friend who wants the best for you, and will help you get there.
The simple act of sharing your goal with someone else and keeping you accountable for it can do wonders to our motivation. But only relying on your spouse of friends is not the best strategy. First of all, your loved ones will be heavily biased, and secondly, they may need the same changes as you do. To get some healthy objectivity, experts recommend getting a coach.
So what is a coach – and how does coaching work?
A coach is a person who helps you figure out the strategies, actions, habits and routines that will help you reach your goals. A coach will listen, provide support and guidance, give you tips and tools – and kick you in the butt when you need it. A coach becomes like a trusted friend who wants the best for you, and will help you get there.
So how does coaching actually work then? This is a great question. There’s a lot of research on coaching and the results are very compelling: in a large survey of over 15,000 organizations 97% of coached individuals were very satisfied with the process. A recent meta-analysis concluded that coaching has significant positive results on the individual’s performance, skills, wellbeing, coping and attitudes.
In short, coaching really does work – it can help you reach your goals, get there faster, and get better results than you would have gotten on your own.
Ready to start your coaching journey with Hintsa? Leave your contact details below and we’ll be in touch.
