Creating Lasting Transformation: Identify the Change (part II)
This is part 2 of 6 in a series about the process for making lasting transformation through intentional exploration and conscious choice-making. Read part 1 here.
The first step to lasting transformation is to identify the change you want to make. “Boom, done!” you say. However, this step is deceptively simple. I’d venture to guess yours is along the lines of “stop feeling overwhelmed” or “have more time for creativity.” While these are fine as first drafts, they’re not clear enough to support you in our journey of lasting transformation.
Most of my clients are drawn to coaching because they desperately want relief from their current situation and are struggling to achieve it on their own. They’re very clear on what they don’t want (i.e. to feel overwhelmed), yet struggle to answer what it is they do want. The process that we work through together is to uncover what they truly want and connect with why that’s important to them.
Like peeling an onion, we continue to surface deeper layers to understand how this goal relates back to their values. Through this process, we’re ensuring that achieving the goal will deliver what’s actually desired. We’re also avoiding the traps of seeking quick solutions that don’t actually provide relief or adopting others’ goals only to realize later that they’re not personally fulfilling
Identifying what you want to change is much like the design process for getting to the right problem statement. The first aspect is to define the goal in the affirmative; it’s about what you want and the motivation behind the change. It’s also about uncovering what’s important about that end state; what outcome you are ultimately looking for.
This can be captured in the problem statement format of “I want [goal] so that [outcome].” For example, “I want to cultivate a calm mind so that my mental energy can be reserved for more creativity.” This sets you up to make meaningful progress because you know what you’re moving towards and what success looks like.
In order to coach yourself to identify the change you want to make, answer the following questions:
What’s important to me about this change?
What do I want?
How do I imagine life being different with this change?
As I often remind my clients, keep asking yourself the same questions to achieve deeper understanding. If you initially identify that “calm” is what’s important about the change, ask yourself what’s important about “calm.” Keep peeling the onion!
If you want to learn more about setting meaningful goals, check out this podcast from Hidden Brain about Who Do You Want to Be?
In the next installment, I’ll share the second step in the process, which is to make a current state audit. You need to know where you’re starting before you can measure your progress.