Category Archives: Goals
August 18, 2021 Luck Favors the Prepared
A while back, I introduced my “5 P’s of Courage,” which are: Prepare, Pep Talk, Power Pose, Project Energy, and Plan B. If you’d like an explanation about all five, read this article. Otherwise, I’m going to focus on the first of the five P’s: Prepare.
It is difficult to overemphasize the importance of preparation. Whether you’re planning for a job interview, thinking about going on a long hike, or creeping up on your annual review, preparation is key. Though some of us are lucky, luck “favors the prepared.” If you practice and plan long enough, you don’t need luck on your side at all. Even if things don’t go perfectly, you’ll be prepared enough to muddle through.
Preparation is an essential career skill—perhaps one of the most important there is. With enough foresight and planning, you can do just about anything! You can pull off a successful speaking engagement in front of 250 people. You can nail your team meeting. You can earn a raise or promotion. You can tactfully field a difficult conversation.
Preparation isn’t always easy. It takes time (e.g. putting together notecards or a PowerPoint presentation) and practice (standing in front of a mirror and going over what you’re going to say). You might have to engage the help of others, or you may have to do a bit of research. However, your preparation has the potential to pay dividends.
Aside from readying yourself to face a particular situation, preparation also has a fortune side effect: it gives you a boost of courage. If you know you’re prepared and know your stuff, you’ll inevitably feel more confident than if you were unprepared or underprepared. Not only that, you’re less likely to be ruffled if someone throws a curveball at you or something goes wrong. It’s your secret weapon when it comes to acting and feeling more confident.
In short: it pays to prepare. Why lean on luck when you can make your own?
Looking for a job change? Or, hoping to accelerate your current career? Check out the career resources (both FREE and paid) on my website!
MARGARET SMITH IS A CAREER COACH, AUTHOR, INSIGHTS® DISCOVERY (AND DEEPER DISCOVERY) LICENSED PRACTITIONER, AND FOUNDER OF UXL. SHE HOSTS WORKSHOPS FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED CAREER OR PERSONAL GUIDANCE.
CHECK OUT MARGARET’S ONLINE LEADERSHIP COURSE.
Tags: 5 P's of Courage, career and preparation, importance of preparation, luck favors the prepared, margaret smith career coach, Margaret Smith Minneapolis career coach
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- Posted under Changing Your Life, Goals
August 4, 2021 Schedule Time To Do Nothing (seriously)
Many of us live packed-to-the-gills lives. We bustle around to work, soccer practice, meetings, and doctor appointments. We do our best to keep our homes clean and our appliances in working order while trying to juggle careers and families. On average, Americans are 400% more productive today than they were in 1950…and our salaries are not keeping pace.
Amid all the hustle and bustle, it’s important to squeeze one more thing into your schedule: “Do Nothing” Time.
If scheduling in swaths of free time sounds radical or even absurd, hear me out. Those periods between your commitments—the times when you allow yourself to simple sit and think and be—are incredibly important for creativity and future productivity. These are times when you can let your mind wander to wherever it wants to go. You are free to recuperate from the constant barrage of activities and de-stress.
If sitting around doing nothing seems uncomfortable or awkward at first, that’s okay! If you’re used to constant activity, it can be a little strange to suddenly step away from it all. To transition into your “do nothing” time, you may want to start slowly. Find a quiet spot and jot down your thoughts in a notebook. Go on a walk and take in your surroundings. As long as you’re not bombarding yourself with media (phones on airplane mode!), that’s a good start.
If you’re still not convinced that “do nothing” time can help generate creativity or replenish your tank, look no further than some of the greatest thinker and inventors in the past century: Albert Einstein and Steve Jobs. Both of these highly influential, bright men were adamant about creating down time for themselves. Einstein enjoyed riding his bicycle through the countryside, and many of his most profound thoughts happened while perched on the seat of a bike. He simply needed the time and space to let his mind meander to wherever it wanted to go.
Next time you pull up your calendar, commit to scheduling in a little “do nothing” time. You might choose to pencil in a little time each morning, or a few hour-long chunks during the week. Even a half-hour is good start. By taking the time to simply be, you are not only giving yourself a gift, but also aiding your future productivity and creativity. In the end, you’re really not doing “nothing.” You’re investing in the future.
Looking for a job change? Or, hoping to accelerate your current career? Check out the career resources (both FREE and paid) on my website!
MARGARET SMITH IS A CAREER COACH, AUTHOR, INSIGHTS® DISCOVERY (AND DEEPER DISCOVERY) LICENSED PRACTITIONER, AND FOUNDER OF UXL. SHE HOSTS WORKSHOPS FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED CAREER OR PERSONAL GUIDANCE.
CHECK OUT MARGARET’S ONLINE LEADERSHIP COURSE.
Tags: Einstein and relaxation, margaret smith career coach, margaret smith leadership, relax for productivity, schedule relaxation time, Steve Jobs and down time
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- Posted under Changing Your Life, Goals
July 21, 2021 An Unexpected Benefit of Giving Advice
We all know that giving advice can help others. You might offer valuable guidance that helps someone through a sticky problem, or you might provide a sought-after opinion. But, did you know that giving advice can actually benefit YOU as well?
Katy Milkman, a professor at the Wharton School of Management and the author of How To Change, has studied advice-giving and discovered that the advice-giver can reap as many benefits as the advice-receiver. The parameters are specific, though. You must give someone advice on the SAME goal or aspiration that YOU are trying to achieve.
Trying to write a book? Tell someone else how to go about doing it.
Trying to lose weight? Give someone advice on an exercise and diet regime.
Want to save more money each month? Advise someone else on how to tuck away those extra dollars.
By giving others advice on the very thing you want to accomplish, you’re building up your confidence, solidifying your ideas by bouncing them off others, and keeping this specific goal top of mind. Milkman also says that once we advise others on a specific objective, we want to “want the talk” and make the goal happen, since it would be hypocritical if we did not.
I have talked quite a bit about goal-setting on this blog, and I DO believe there is more to accomplishing goals than simply talking about them or giving advice, but still, this is an interesting piece of insight. By talking out your goals, you keep them top-of-mind and you (either subconsciously or consciously) are continuously problem-solving around them.
So, keep talking and keep giving advice! Here’s a video of Katy Milkman talking with Daniel Pink about advice giving:
MARGARET SMITH IS A CAREER COACH, AUTHOR, INSIGHTS® DISCOVERY (AND DEEPER DISCOVERY) LICENSED PRACTITIONER, AND FOUNDER OF UXL. SHE HOSTS WORKSHOPS FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED CAREER OR PERSONAL GUIDANCE.
CHECK OUT MARGARET’S ONLINE LEADERSHIP COURSE.
Tags: benefit of giving advice, daniel pink, goals and advice, katy milkman, Margaret Smith life coach, Margaret Smith professional speaker, milkman advice giving, unexpected benefit give advice
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- Posted under Advice from a Life Coach, Communication, Goals
