Meeting Topic
Another Year in the Rear View Mirror By Jennifer Myers
As you near the end of another year in business (either in your own business or for an employer), I would encourage you to set aside time to reflect on what has happened during the year. But, after 13 years of coaching a wide variety of businesses, I have come to rely on a few specific questions to guide this reflection. So make an appointment with yourself (and keep it!), pour your favourite beverage, get comfortable and make sure you have something to write or type your thoughts on.
One of the first questions I want you to ask yourself is this: ‘What has gone brilliantly well for me this year in my business or in my career?’
- What goals did I smash?
- What client did I win?
- How much holiday or quality family time did I enjoy?
- What new skill did I learn?
Take time with this one and really FEEL the enjoyment and the sense of achievement, then write down what feelings are coming up.
The next question I want you to focus on is: ‘What didn’t go to plan this year?’
- What deal fell over?
- What system or process let me or a client down?
- What project did I start and not finish?
The REAL gold in this question is following up each of your answers with this: ‘What could I have done to change the outcome of that situation?’ This question isn’t just about rehashing what went wrong, but making a real attempt to learn from those experiences so that you don’t repeat them! Write down your answers.
Here’s the third question I want you to answer: ‘What will I do DIFFERENTLY in the coming year to get an even better result for my business or to further my career?’ Because here’s the thing, if you’re not growing you’re dying. And your business or career will never outgrow YOU! How will YOU grow in the coming year?
- How many books will you read?
- What new skill will you learn?
- How much holiday time will you enjoy?
- How will you take care of yourself differently to protect your energy?
- How will you keep more promises to yourself?
- What will LIFE/WORK balance look like?
2024 can be whatever you want it to be. So, use your reflection time to begin designing the life and business YOU want. You know your Venus management team is here to support you any way we can. You just have to ask!
Happy Holidays!
Next Meeting Topic
Introduction
As you enter a fresh year, you’ve probably set a few new goals for yourself and your business. Perhaps reaching those goals will entail doing things you don’t yet know how to do OR things that you may feel a bit fearful about. In the article below, contributed by Rebecca Stone of Stone’s Throw, you’ll learn a few actionable tips to support you to take action, EVEN IF you’re scared!
Do It Scared – How To Manage Your Fears – By Rebecca Stone
Fear is an interesting emotion.
It’s one we are expected to grow out of as we grow up, and as adults we don’t often discuss our fears or the things that scare us.
In reality, fear is often holding us back from doing the things we want to do – whether we are aware of it or not.
This article is all about learning how to manage your fears – or doing it scared.
- Don’t fight your fears – make friends with them.
We are often directed to fight our fears and slay our dragons. I like to take a different approach! Let’s ride our dragons instead and make friends with our fears. Acknowledge the fear when it shows up, name it and check if this is an old friend – one you have dealt with before – or is this a new one?
- How is this fear serving you?
Our mind is very clever, it is geared to protect us and ensure our survival. It does this by making us aware of danger or harm and fear is one of its mechanisms. Usually this fear is unfounded, but it can be hard to tell the difference. Once you have acknowledged your fear ask it “How are you serving me?”.
- Did fear get stuck in your body?
Sometimes fear can get stuck in our body, rather than coming from our mind. Think of this scenario – your mind sends a signal of danger and then the dangerous thing happens. In the future, when the mind signals this particular danger the body generates an overreaction, based on the remembered event. Your body had generated a trauma response based on the alert. Here’s an example:
I’m scared of cows.
Not because they present a threat to me, but because of an event that occurred in the past. Understanding that this is not a current threat, but a remembered threat helps me to manage my fear of cows. I can use that reminder to keep myself in the present moment rather than falling into the fear from the past.
- Do it scared.
You can acknowledge the fear, understand it and also understand why it is impacting you, but the key is not letting it stop you from doing what you want.
Being scared doesn’t diminish what you are doing. Invite your fear to come along for the ride. You can build your courage and bravery muscles, not by pretending you aren’t scared, but by doing it scared. The emotion of fear is just a data signal from either your brain or your body – you get to choose how you use that signal.
If you want to hear the story behind my fear of cows, or would like to learn more about me and what I do – jump on my Venus profile and use the link to book a RAVE. I would love to hear from you. https://www.venusbusinesswomen.co.nz/profile/rebeccastone_lifecoach
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