Do You Have a Personal Strategy?

Michelle EllwangerCoaching ArticlesLeave a Comment

The word strategy is derived from a Greek word meaning “the art of the general.”

At a basic business level, a strategy is the unified concept of how an enterprise accomplishes its goals.

A good strategy involves choice and is intentional.  What you choose not to do is as important as what you do. It is about moving away from being everything to everybody. Instead, you discover how to be bold and choose.

A personal strategy applies these same concepts to your personal life.

To get started, write down answers to the following 3 questions:

1) What are my strengths? Everyone has strengths. Think about what you are good at. This can be small, like making people laugh or listening when others talk. What is important is that you start noticing the gifts you have been given so that you can more consciously incorporate these into your life.

2) What do I value and am willing to sacrifice something else for? This is an indicator of what is meaningful to you as an individual. Do you tell your friends you are busy but then sit in front of the TV for two hours each night? We all make time for what we value. Start paying more attention to what you value. And if you find your priorities are a little out of wack, feel free to modify.

3) What do I want to accomplish?  This is not a short term goal but rather what you would like to be said at your funeral. And remember that success doesn’t have to be monetary or worldly. In fact, when you begin to understand mortality, this type of success often becomes unimportant. Instead, think legacy. What will you have left to make the world a better place after you are gone?

The answers to these questions make up the beginning of your personal strategy. To help you become more intentional as to where all your time is currently going, use the Edge Coaching handout called, What’s on Your Plate

Having a strategy will do two things:  First, it will help you recognize what you should stop doing to free up time to focus on important things.  And second, it will give you the courage to overcome the anxiety associated with new endeavors if they are aligned with your strategy. When you are in alignment, life flows beautifully and effortlessly.

What’s the takeaway? Make the time to evaluate what you do every day – where you work, how you spend free time, what you are saving for, planning for, and thinking about.  Is all of this in alignment with your personal strategy?  There should be no judgment about past decisions.  That is not the point.  The point is to be intentional about how you live your life now.

Eliminate the possibility of any regrets in your life.  Ask yourself today, are you a soldier following orders or the general of your life?

* This article is copyrighted property of Edge Coaching LLC.  To reproduce, notify and reference Edge Coaching.   For more Coaching Corner articles, visit www.edgecoaching.com

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