by Kathy Gates
Award-winning coach, Bill Parcels says: “When you’ve done a lot
of losing, it gets hard to imagine yourself winning. Confidence is only born out
of demonstrated ability. In training camp, we don’t focus on the ultimate goal
of getting to the Super Bowl. We establish a clear set of goals that are within
immediate reach“.
What lessons about daily life goals can we learn from a Super
Bowl winning coach? I’m glad you asked.
And here’s the answer: *The only way to break the habit of
losing is to begin to get into the habit of winning.*
Get into the habit of winning by choosing an obtainable goal.
For example, if saving seems to be totally impossible, just put $5 in a cookie
jar each week. If getting exercise into your day seems overwhelming, try just
walking in place for 10 minutes after lunch. Find something towards your goals
that you know you can accomplish. The first key is that you Start, not how much
you do. You can always add to it later. .
Get into the habit of winning by choosing a mindset for winning.
Be sure to put your goal in positive terms. Not “Don’t eat Oreos after dinner”,
but instead “Make a healthy dessert for after dinner”. Avoid choosing a goal
that you’ve been unsuccessful at over and over. With that, you already have a
mindset for failure. Try something new to help you -- as Coach Parcels notes
above -- develop a mindset for winning.
Get into the habit of winning by being accountable. Goals cannot
be achieved by making excuses. If you want something -- whether that’s losing
weight, getting organized, saving money -- it all begins with deciding that you
are willing to do what it will take to accomplish it. Raise what you expect of
yourself and you’ll see results.
Get into the habit of winning by accentuating the positive. When
you achieve a goal, acknowledge it. Life is not about “when I get XXX”. Life is
about acknowledging and enjoying the steps along the way. Every piece is as
important as the next. Think of it as constructing a building. The first brick
laid is as important as the last. Celebrate your success along the way.
Get into the habit of winning by remind yourself of successes of
the past. Why is this important? In today’s world of “what have you done for me
today”, it’s easy to lose track of past successes. And while past successes
won’t help you anymore than that shower you had this morning will help you a
week from now, remembering that you have succeeded can be a good starting place.
If you’ve “forgotten how to win”, use past successes to springboard from. You
have been a winner before, and you can do it again.
Winning is a habit. Winning is a mindset. Winning is an
attitude.
When you set small, visible goals and achieve them, you begin to
start to get it in your head that you can succeed. You begin to believe in
yourself, and the motivation sets in, and you’re off to the Super Bowl.
Kathy Gates is a Professional Life Coach in Scottsdale AZ. I help people deal
with the stress of every day living in
a more organized and efficient manner. Get more information at my website Real
Life Coach,
http://www.reallifecoach.com/ and sign
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