There are many tools that I use with my coaching clients, but none as effective as the 3 C’s of change.
- Clarity
- Commitment
- Choice
These work for someone wanting to loose weight, start a new business, changing career or making another sort of positive change in their life.
The first one is clarity. You will have heard this before around goal setting. Being really clear what you want to achieve is the first step. I often find clients are hazy on their goal. For example, if you want to loose weight, that’s wonderful, but how much and by when? By really understanding what the the outcome will look like you are closer to being able to achieve. I ask my clients to visualise achieving the goal and being able to feel that moment when they have. How does it make you feel? What does it taste like? Look like. This is a great activity to help you realise your goal. I also ask my clients to visualise achieving the goal every morning, just as they are waking up.
It’s also important here to know why. This will mean in the days ahead when you don’t feel like working towards your goal, you can revisit the why. If you have a strong reason why you want to achieve the goal, then you are more likely to succeed and if you don’t have a strong reason why, then ask yourself do I really want it. It’s ok to say no. This isn’t my goal anymore.
Now you have you have clarity around your goal. It’s time to commit. I ask my clients two questions at this point.
- On a scale of 1 to 10, how committed are you to this goal. Anything lower than a 7, your goal may need to be revised.
- The second question, again on a scale of 1 to 10 how confident are you? This is where we often don’t know how to make our goal happen and seeking support from others is a great idea.
Commitment is about really stepping into the goal a hundred percent. We often fear failure, so we don’t put ourselves into something a hundred percent. By doing this we are already setting ourselves up for failure.
The last of the three C’s is choice. Making change isn’t something that just happens. You have to keep choosing the goal. Sometimes everyday. For example, if loosing weight is your goal and you don’t want to go for the run and that’s part of your plan. Then, make it a conscious choice. You’re in charge of your future. Choosing means you take responsibility for the outcome and that’s a place of power. Because it’s ok to not choose to go for that run if that’s the right thing for you. But make it a conscious choice. And keep choosing.
It’s time to start set your goal, commit to it and choose to make it happen. You are the creator of your own destiny.