This April fool’s day I decided to skip the Jell-O in the showerhead, clock set one hour ahead, and the many other notorious tricks and instead try to “trick” my business. Perhaps trick is the wrong word but given that April Fool’s Day inspired my new activity, I will go with it. So, here is the premise- I had a good March. My business, my home, and my life are all in good shape. But when I really sit back and look at what could have been in March, I realized that I was settling for good when I could have had GREAT. I started thinking, what if for one month I really played full out? What would happen if I took the chicken exit off the table for an entire month? What could I accomplish? After some mental aerobics about how good was maybe good enough and that knocking in my heart that knows good is never enough when great is possible, I decided to go for it! And so, my April Fool’s Day trick was determined: Play to win all month, play big, & leave it all out there. At the end of April, there will be zero regrets about what could have been.
It sounds so basic-right? And it is. But I see it at work every day. I hear it from my coaching clients. I see it in myself. I didn’t make the phone calls to the prospective clients because I was too busy. I decided not to take on that project because the risk was too high, I am too busy to pursue that opportunity, I cannot start my own business now the economy is bad, I don’t have the necessary skills, and on and on and on. Sometimes these excuses are valid but often they are just a long way of saying, no thanks-I don’t want to play that big. I feel pretty safe right where I am.
Many of us have been playing not too lose for so long that we have forgotten that the game is really about winning. We fall into our routines, our comfort zones, our patterns and we do not even realize that when we are in these places we are stagnating. Our lizard brains, designed to keep us safe, keeps pulling us away from the edge-away from the opportunity to hit a home run in an effort to protect us from the strike out. For me the pattern was unproductive busyness. I was allowing myself to fill my day with unproductive activity so that I didn’t have the time to pursue the harder task. To any outsider, my calendar would look full but when I really look at what I was accomplishing, I knew the activities were keeping me in motion but not moving forward. We all have patterns we fall into. My patterns were holding me back. What about you?
Each and every one of us is wired different. I don’t know where you are playing it safe. But if you are like 99% of the world- you are. My challenge to you is to move the part of your brain that wants to play it safe aside, and to really spend some time thinking about what would happen if you started playing to win. I am not even saying to go try it, although that would be spectacular! I am just saying, move your lizard brain out of the way and start to think about what COULD happen. Is there a knocking at your heart that you have been avoiding answering? Are you settling for good when great is one more phone call away? Are you getting up every day and heading to a job you hate because it provides a steady paycheck? Are you allowing yourself to be anonymous about some condition you object to because the risk of being heard is too scary? Are you beating yourself up with Mommy guilt instead of embracing the power of being a working Mom? Whatever it is for you-what would it be like if you shoved all of the fear aside and just went for it? Revel in the thought-enjoy the possibility! Allow your mind to enjoy all that is possible for you!
Maybe a few of you will become so excited about the possibility of playing to win that you will move to the next step. And, many of you will not. That is OK. Sometimes we have to go there in the mind many many times before we are ready to go there in the flesh. I recently saw a great video about leadership development that under scored the importance of showing up and playing big. As you prepare to consider the possibilities- maybe this video will help you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6F97jRnAkc
As for me, I am tired of good. I am ready for GREAT! April is MY MONTH! I am not shrinking for anyone. I am playing to win! Who wants to join me?
About Jonelle- Jonelle Vold is a business coach passionate about success. A mother of twins, former Assistant Dean at a tier-one law school, attorney, and seasoned sales professional, Jonelle understands the challenges of high-level professionals. Her coaching philosophy is every person has the ability to achieve greatness by cracking their own personal codes and living with intention. You can reach Jonelle at jonelle@jonellevold.com, 520-225-9053, or www.jonellevold.com
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