After our last blog on Growth and Fixed Mindset Does Your Mindset Need a Tune Up? – The Career Agency, a colleague shared a gem she used when trying to embrace a growth mindset which had to be shared.  Simply by adding the word ‘yet’ at the end of a statement, your mind remains open to possibilities and change. So, for example the statement “I can’t make a good coffee” is static, whereas if we say instead “I can’t make a good coffee yet” this leaves room for growth and development.  This small tweak is something worth considering when those “I can’t…” declarations tumble out of our mouths.

Framing what we say in this way also reduces the overwhelm that comes with all the things we ‘should’ and ‘could’ be doing in our lives that often results in us feeling inferior and depleted.

Perhaps next time you hear yourself saying I should…… flip it around and say I haven’t done XYZ yet, and if you feel inclined to, give yourself a deadline of when you’d like to achieve this by, and make note so you can refer to later. On doing this take note of how your mind and body respond.

Remember goals are to be SMART – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely.

During times of overwhelm I often set monthly goals in areas that I have control over where I want to grow or change.  I ask myself a couple of important questions as part of the process

  • How critical is it that I meet this achievement over the next month?
  • Is it the best use of my time during this period?

(Time is the one commodity you can never get back again)

  • What will it mean to me? (my Why)
  • Is it realistic? If I think it is, great, if not then I need to rework my goal, so it is.
  • How attainable is this goal?

Now I am a tactile person, so I still use a good old fashion journal and diary, however digital is just as effective too if that’s the way you’re wired. The journal is used for writing down details of what I seek to achieve, why, and the proposed date. Research has shown that people are 42% more likely to achieve their goals if written down, so definitely worth the effort.  Each goal is then broken down into micro daily, weekly steps that are written into the diary. To achieve these goals as planned the micro steps need to be fulfilled (sadly there is no magic fairy). At the end of the month goals in the journal are reviewed and reassessed. Often many have been achieved, for others they are in progress but haven’t been achieved YET (these ones, if still valid and important to me, are added to the next month’s goals along with any new ones I may like to add.

in an environment where many of us have felt unable to plan long term, this process provides the ability to work towards smaller goals that will have significant impact collectively over time, So I encourage you to look objectively at a few areas of your life and see if there are any goals, you’d like to work towards using the method outlined above over the coming months, whether it be career focused, personal development, health and emotional wellbeing…  Hopefully like me you will feel a sense of self-care that brings clarity to what’s important to you right now, a feeling of achievement, less overwhelm, and a lot to be grateful for.