Hey Coach Ponyling!
Have you ever completely lost motivation?
Or found yourself endlessly procrastinating?
Or been stuck in a loop of “OMG – what do I even DO to get clients in my life coaching business?”
(You so aren’t alone).
These are all things that can sap your business of success, and mean that the life coaching clients who need you don’t get your help.
And sure, there are big reasons why many coaching businesses fail. (Read this article immediately if not sooner so you can avoid the tears and heartache).
Obviously to be successful in business you need to have:
- Business know-how (don’t skip this step)
- A clear and compelling personal why (beyond just making money)
- Business systems in place that convert people to clients, etc etc
So those are the big things to keep in mind.
But recently I’ve been thinking about the tiny little monsters that can tank your business. The business pitfalls that grab you *before* you even realize something is amiss.
And then…weeks go by and you think “What happened to me?!”
But first, a relevant story!
I’ve got a chocolate addiction that is strong. So, I obviously need to work out in order to fit into my pants.
But I’m also incredibly lazy.
It’s super easy for me to sleep in, “mentally” work out, or take a lazy walk and call it a day.
I got into a pit a few months ago where I really wasn’t working out, and I couldn’t figure out why.
Then I had a eureka moment were I realized that…drumroll… I had no positive exercise triggers!
For our discussion here, I’m defining positive triggers as things that help remove obstacles from your path – almost unconsciously – and promote good behavior.
So, to test: Before I’d get up, read the paper for two hours (I’m a political junkie), and then maybe work out. I’d usually be reading the paper in my most fetching pj’s/sweats with a lovely bathrobe accessory.
So to work out I had to get up from my comfy easy chair, find work out clothes (the effort) and THEN CHANGE INTO THEM (egads!), and THEN work out.
Many times I’d just keep saying ‘Oh, I’ll change and do it later.’ Later, of course, was never. There were so many obstacles! I say this in jest, but also because it’s true. Working out was hard enough, having to take 4 steps to get there was apparently just too hard.
So, I experimented with a positive trigger to overcome some of these obstacles: I put my workout clothes right where I’d see them as soon as I got up, so that seeing them would trigger me to change into them right away, before I got settled into reading. Thus I solved two big obstacles to my work out – finding the clothes and changing into them.
I didn’t change anything else about my routine, I just created that positive trigger for myself and …
…I’ve worked out 5 days a week for the last three weeks. YAY!
So my first question to you is: What positive triggers can you create in your business, to help you make progress? What TINY little adjustments can you make, that might reap huge rewards?
Is it setting an ongoing calendar reminder to make sure you take action in a specific area? Is it asking Alexa to tell you something? 🙂 Is it putting your journal right near your bed so you see it when you wake up? Is it putting your computer and an empty coffee cup on your kitchen counter so you are ready to go in the morning? What is it?
But here’s more! Let’s talk NEGATIVE TRIGGERS.
Negative triggers keep you stuck in your business, by derailing your focus and dragging you down.
We *all* have negative triggers.
My husband had a big one at work – a colleague of his brought donuts into the office every day, and offered them to people by physically dropping by their desks and holding out a plate. He’d take one out of politeness and because he loves donuts, and then it acted as a negative trigger. If he ate a donut, he was about 100% more likely to then eat a candy bar (why not, he’d already had a donut!), a soda with lunch, and oh yes, how about some fries with that?
And *of course*, on those days he was always complaining about how tired he was.
But if he didn’t eat the donut, then he consistently made healthier choices throughout the day and at lunch.
He figured this out when he gained 10 lbs in 4 weeks :).
In business, negative triggers can be tricky. When you open Facebook to check on friends you might see an ad from a successful coach and immediately feel bad about yourself, procrastinate on your business training (here’s a great training I recommend if you need one!), and stop all forward momentum.
Or you might check your email first thing, get *instantly grumpy and anxious*, and have that derail your focus for the morning.
Or you might see the same person who keeps asking you how your business is going, triggering you to say “fine” with gritted teeth (when you know it’s not fine), thus making you feel awful.
Negative triggers are everywhere!
But knowing them is most of the battle.
So take a second and ponder: What are your negative triggers? What small behaviors or people or things are contributing to you feeling unmotivated or anxious or just down, so that you lose focus and productivity?
And if you don’t know right now, that’s okay. Just observe them when they happen and take note!
They’ll come – oh yes, they’ll come!
And once they come, you can work to eliminate or manage them…
…thus keeping you more focused and on point (yay!).
It won’t take much, even simple things like:
- Checking social media once a day (or less!)
- Not stocking ice cream in your fridge (me, maybe? :))
- Only checking email after you’ve accomplished one big thing per day
- Reading a business book in the morning, instead of immediately checking the news (Hi! I need to do this!)
Tiny changes that can reap big results in terms of keeping you motivated and focused.
The best news: Your business will thank you!
Your business will also thank you if you do this:
Everyone always asks me: How do you get paying clients? My best answer: You need to, immediately without passing go, read this fancy-pants article on why people *don’t* pay for life coaching and what to do instead. Understand this and your business will be in 1,000 better shape, m’kay? No opt-in required, just click and go! (It’s long, so get ready!).
