Make it work!
One of my core beliefs that has got me through so many things is my belief that I can "make it work". When faced with lack of funds, shortage of time or something new my attitude is one of "I can make this work." I believe wholeheartedly that I'll find a way. I'm not sure when this started but the attitude has certainly built over the last few years of self-employment. I hadn't been completely aware that this was my mindset until people began to quote it back to me. My mum especially who has also taken up the cry "we'll make it work."
Now I am by no means claiming to be some sort of miracle worker who can produce funds out of thin air and bend time. No, what the make it work mindset means to me is that I'll be creative. I'll find another way. The obvious path may not be open to me or the route I thought I'd be taking but I know I'll find another way.
In her recent book Marie Forleo sums this up perfectly in the title, Everything is Figureoutable. And needless to say, I agree. For me having the belief that I can make it work makes me more creative. It has also made me so more open to trying different options. It's made a one-time perfectionist much more relaxed about how things get done. I'm a firm believer that done is better than perfect and if I let go of perfect it's so much easier to make it work!
Coaching is very much about making it work. My clients have goals and dreams they want to achieve that on the face of it may seem really daunting, but I ask them questions such as:
what could you do?
what has worked in the past?
what would an expert in the field recommend?
what would be a fun way of doing it?
what could you do if time wasn't an issue?
what could you do if money wasn't an issue?
how would you do it if you knew you couldn't fail?
what would Oprah Winfrey suggest you do?
what would Richard Branson suggest you do?
what would you do if you felt the most confident you've ever felt?
what would you do if you didn't care what anyone else thought?
These questions and others like them help the creative juices to flow. At this stage they aren't committing themselves to doing any of these things, instead they are coming up with lots and lots of options. And in that list of options there will be actions that they can and will commit to doing so that they do make it work and get a step nearer to that dream they have.
My attitude that I can and will make it work also comes from confidence. As I've written before I believe that confidence is all about trust. If I'm confident in you and your abilities to get a job done it's because I trust you. I trust that you'll do what you say you'll do. It's the same with my confidence in myself. I trust myself to do what I say I'll do. I trust myself to keep going when things are hard. I trust myself to show up for myself and others. This trust in myself comes from past successes. I have evidence that I will do the hard things. I have evidence that I can be creative. I have lots of evidence that I can make it work! This confidence encourages me to take action and those actions in their turn build more confidence. More belief in myself and that I can make it work.
I think this is such an important element of the make it work mindset, the belief in myself and my abilities that I have a whole session with my clients in my one-to-one signature coaching programme on building confidence. One client finished the session declaring that she believed that she could achieve anything. Someone else knowing that she can make it work.
I'm so passionate about this that I have a free workbook that takes you through the same confidence building session that I use with my clients. It's yours for free if you click here.
If you want to start 2020 and the new decade strong with a "make it work" mindset click here to book a free 20 minute exploratory call. During the call we’ll explore:
The life that you want to live.
What obstacles are currently stopping you.
What’s most important to make progress on first.
And then, if it feels right, how we could work together.
So, here's to 2020, a new year, a new decade and a belief that we can make it work!
