We all know that we we will continue to get the same outcome if we continue to do the same thing, yet so many of us, purportedly intelligent people have great difficulty shifting our mindset, and shifting ourselves into a different gear to try a different approach.
As a Coach I have seen this frequently. The issues are loud and clear. There is a desire for the outcomes to be different. But yet the issues perpetuate; we continue to talk about them and allow our energy to be consumed by them, but don’t actually do anything different to change the situation. It’s like a broken record.
We all know we need to change our behaviours if we want a different outcome. It’s no different from the training we need to do if we want to swim to Rottnest or complete the Busselton Iron Man or trek the Kokoda Trail. Many of us may have the desire to take on a significant physical challenge. But, it’s only the relatively few that commit to changing their behaviours of getting up early in the morning, doing the training, taking advice from a coach and modifying their diet and drinking habits that actually succeed.
It’s not easy; it’s hard work and usually some pain along the way. It takes commitment and a relentless focus on the goal. It’s about a new routine becoming a habit. But it doesn’t take long before we start to see some return for our efforts. And then the motivation really kicks in. Getting started is often where the difficulty lies.
The approach to overcoming challenges in our professional lives and in our businesses is exactly the same. We need to recognise that a different approach is needed and be prepared to invest ourselves in behaving differently if we genuinely desire a different outcome. Nothing will change if we don’t change.
Getting started can be as simple as having a conversation with someone who offers an objective perspective.
“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results” Albert Einstein
