Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back …
Three steps forward and two steps back could be a line dancing choreography, which might be fun. However, it can be daunting when you are working on a project or trying to mend a relationship and hiccups happen. Setting goals and measuring progress towards them are important in the coaching relationship. Some tips to consider when you are trying to figure out if you are on the right track:
Have your needs or values changed?
When defining your goals, were they specific enough to define your intention?
Did the goal include a reasonable due date?
How is the goal measured?
Is the goal still reasonable and relevant?
Have the setbacks changed the achievability of the goal?
When I was setting up my business, it started with a vicious circle: Every item on my “to-do” list had some prerequisite at a later step in the process. This made it a never-ending case of “you can’t get there from here.” For example, starting a website with a domain name required me to establish the LLC first, as the company's name needed to be in the domain name. To do that, some legal work needed to be done, and I preferred to utilize a bank account set aside for my business. However, I could not set up a business bank account until I had a legally established LLC and a place to do business. I couldn’t get there from here. Three steps forward and two steps back. I felt like I was doing the good old Texas two-step when establishing my business vision with all the ducks lined up in a neat little row. Contrary to popular belief, however, ducks tend to wander. They don’t line up in neat little rows and often crisscross each other.
I had to reevaluate and rearrange my goals. So what if I used personal money for some of the steps? Once the business account was established, I could send an expense report and repay myself. I began to realize that I was making things too complicated. I needed to break the goals into smaller bits and redefine how some would be accomplished to get myself unstuck from the “you can’t get there from here mentality.”
The moral of my story is that when you take three steps forward and two steps back, you are still making progress. Don’t dwell on challenges; just learn from them. Then, celebrate the victories.