Ultimate Cheat Sheet on Your Inner Game

You’ve been running your business for a few years now and you know you do a great job at meeting the needs of your clients whether it’s career coaching or resume writing, possibly both. Your clients tell you so. Perhaps you’ve been thinking about raising your prices, adding more to your coaching services, resume packages, or overall service offerings. Maybe you’ve been thinking about subcontracting some of your workload. You’ve been thinking about it, but haven’t acted on it yet because it just never seems like the right time to take action. At least, this is what you keep telling yourself. Maybe it could be something else that’s stopping you from moving forward toward your goal. For example, you’re afraid that people might think you’re too expensive to work with or you’re not sure if you’re ready to handle the additional workload that comes with adding new services. Possibly, delegating some work to others doesn’t make you feel that you’re in “full” control of your business. Sound familiar? “In every human endeavor there are two arenas of engagement: the outer and the inner,” says Tim Gallwey, author of The Inner Game of Work. “The outer game is played on an exte al arena to overcome exte al obstacles. The inner game takes place within the mind and is played to overcome the self-imposed obstacles.” You can try harder to change by taking more action in the outside, physical world. But if you’re controlled by limiting beliefs and negative feelings, chances are you’re just going to go faster in the wrong direction. So how do you effect real change, change that starts from within? The first step is to identify just what’s holding you back. Some common internal roadblocks are:

Fear – Probably the most popular reason, the list of fears is endless. Whatever your fears, they prevent you in some way from experiencing your full potential. Thinking Small – If you expect less, you get less. You have to think big and believe you can have success before you will actually experience it. Being Out of Balance – When we over focus on certain areas of our lives to the exclusion of others, we experience stress and conflicts – creativity is then compromised. Lack of Motivation – Without excitement or passion for what you’re doing , it’s difficult to get moving in any direction.

Once you determine your specific roadblocks, it’s time to face them head on, adjusting your beliefs and defining (or redefining) your life priorities and purpose. We know working with a coach helps many to determine practical strategies for navigating roadblocks. Coaches have coaches too! Steven Covey of Seven Habits suggests writing a personal mission statement and then organizing your life around it. Whatever you do, keep looking inside. Take responsibility for what you create exte ally and work on winning the inner game. When you do, you’ll start winning in the outer world, too.