The Deciding Factor

The concept of making decisions from a place I want to be, rather than the place I am in, has been a total game changer for me this year.

It has given me the confidence and clarity to take my own inner leap of faith to pursue all the things - personal and professional - that my heart and soul have been flagging as priorities for some time now, and which I have been busy ignoring in order to avoid rocking the status quo.

This concept mirrors the advice given by Steve Siebold in his article 'What the middle class doesn’t understand about rich people' in which he talks about how the financially wealthy think differently.  According to Siebold, those who attain wealth and success are willing to operate in a constant state of uncertainty; willing to let go of stability, and comfort, in order to pursue and achieve their dreams. Siebold was talking about financial wealth, but this concept is equally as valid in the context of personal happiness, relationships, health, happiness, and general wellbeing.

The point that Siebold makes is that each decision can be approached in one of two ways, from a state of fear, based on protecting the status quo, or a state of trust, based on a commitment to honouring our own sense of value and ability to go the distance in order to make our dreams a reality.

Like most profound shifts, the concept behind it is a very simple one - projecting your mindset to where you want to be (your heart is already there, you just need to convince your head to follow) effectively silences the inner critic within, who continually wants to play it safe, and stay within the comfort zone of the here and now.

Projecting our mindset to where we want to be is the easy part, holding that state of mind for long enough to start to make it a reality is the tough part.

It is inevitable that the voices of fear and doubt will at some point start to be heard and this is the point at which you choose - the future, or the present, success, or the status quo, the comfortable, or the crazy, wild and scary unknown that has the potential to unleash your inner brilliance and allow your light to burn strong and bright.

This year I made the choice, I dove not head but heart first, and for the first time in my life I surrendered my fate to what I know will be an amazing future.

Is it uncomfortable and at times downright frightening to let go of what you know in order to pursue what you feel? Absolutely, but every time the doubts and fears begin to rear their heads these are the things that help bring me back to being comfortable with the uncomfortable:

1. Do not give into panic! This is really key to keeping you focused on making decisions from the direction you are moving towards and not from where you are!

2. Get to know your worst-case scenario. Fear of the unknown is one of the biggest inhibitors to action so get intimately familiar with your worst cases and you will see their hold over you diminish.

3. Count your self worth regularly. As a society we are obsessed with putting a value on our financial and physical assets yet we fail to put any significant value on THE most valuable asset of all,  ourselves. You owe it to yourself to step into your full potentially and allow your brilliance to shine!

4. Ask yourself which side of the statistic fence you want to sit on - the 97% of people who quit chasing their dreams or the 3% of the people who hire that 97% to help them realise theirs?
 

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Author: Deidre Dattoli

Deidre is highly experienced in the fields of executive coaching and leadership development, team dynamics and performance, offering a range of personal and group leadership training programs, customized training solutions, consultancy and coaching services.

Deidre is one of Griffith Consulting's key program facilitators.

For more information about Deidre, please go to: http://www.deidredattoli.com/