Overcoming Obstacles

"You can't jump a twenty-foot chasm in two ten-foot leaps." --American proverb

Have you ever heard of S.M.A.R.T goals? These are goals that are Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, and Time-based. You specify the goal and then you clarify the actions it will take to meet the goal by a particular time. As long as you take the necessary action steps, in all likelihood you will meet your goal.

Frequently in coaching, I will ask a client, "What's your next step?" as a way to make sure they keep moving forward toward their goals.

But what about those really BIG changes, the ones that require a total shift in consciousness or a complete letting go of the way things are? What are your choices when faced with a "twenty-foot chasm?"

Here are a few choices; maybe you could add a few more to this list:

• Stay where you are. When faced with a huge obstacle on life's journey, many of us do just this. We refuse to change or we may even turn around and go back "home." We make the "safe" choice.
• Wait for a helicopter. Those of us who wait to be rescued may be waiting a very long time. 
• Climb down into the chasm. Some of us choose to venture into the depths, no matter how harrowing the path or difficult the climb, in order to get to the other side.
• Build a bridge. Of course, this requires teamwork. You don't have to go it alone. Who might be willing to support you through the most difficult challenges of your life? Who do you want to have on your team?

What will you choose?

"For I know the plans have for you," declares the LORD, "plans for well-being, and not for calamity, in order to give you a future and a hope." --Jeremiah 29:11