Recently, I had a guest who I scheduled to have an interview with on the March edition of our podcast- My mentor. My guest who had limited knowledge of the use of recording softwares, was unable to connect with the link I shared.
As we kept struggling with the various links that I shared with her, the excitement diminished. We switched from Anchor- my recording space, to google meet, to zoom, to direct phone calls and so on and so forth, all to no avail. It was either her audio was not connecting or the recording link was expired. As a coach, I fought to stay motivated but after 2 hours with no success, I knew it was time to take a break. Did I accept defeat? Hell no!!!
Two days after the failed recording session, my mind was still on the podcast. The month was running out and we need to go live in March. While I was contemplating all of these, I put a call to my guest and said, let’s try this again. This time, it was effortless and a huge success. By the way, I already had a plan B which was to do a solo recording, but I kept it as my very last option so I don’t lose focus.
Like my failed recording story, many times we set very realistic goals but somehow they end up going out of our control. Even the very SMART goals fail, that is because there are some unseen forces that are beyond our control. When life ‘s goals hit obstacles, here are a few tips that you should never forget
- Try yet again
Trying again can be a very frustrating thing to do especially when you know that the strategy you are using worked perfectly well in previous times. It is possible to spend a lot of energy and time lamenting on how this has worked for A and B and why you feel this should work at the moment. Your ability to try one more time and another time can have positive consequences on you or your team. In my case, my very average guest, who had limited knowledge of software and ICT in general was able to figure out the best way out of our predicament. She mentioned that by constantly studying the links I sent to her and following online leads, she was able to detect why our audio had issues; hence the success on our last trial.
- Change environment
Change of state (location or mood) is capable of making one think clearer on issues. The environment we are at a particular time may influence our deliverables positively or negatively. Being conscious of this fact will enable one make decisions from a safe space. You will agree with me that after several trials on our recording, frustration set in and everything I could see at that point was failure. A renewed mind breeds new ideas, therefore when your goals hit the rocks, it is time to change your state and then try again. In extreme cases where individual effort fails, a trained coach can be of help.
- Stay motivated with the goal in sight
It is very possible to replace failing goals when all efforts to achieve them seem fruitless. In order to ensure that the goal remains valid, one needs to stay motivated. You need to constantly remember the reason for setting the goal in the first place. Having a right mindset will allow you to stay inspired, take more action, face the obstacles and push through to achieve the success that you require.
- Have a plan B but Keep it silent
Having a plan B is very important in all of our endeavor. The challenge it poses however is that one is capable of letting plan A go since there is something else to fall back to. Look at it this way, it was because plan A was important, that was why you set it up anyway. Never allow your plan B become so important that you forget the first reason for achieving your goal- which is your plan A.
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