Commitments to Yourself

This isn't intentionally a New Year's Eve post, but the timing is quite appropriate, given the number of resolutions that may be made within the next 24 hours.

As a coach, I need to have a good answer to the question, "Why would I need a coach to achieve my goals?" And, honestly, sometimes I wonder that myself.

The truth is that while some people are good at setting goals and going after them until they're accomplished, the vast majority of us are rather unsuccessful at fulfilling commitments we make to ourselves. It's not because we're slackers, necessarily, but we let other things get in the way.

Sometimes we put commitments to ourselves at a lower priority than commitments to others, such as responsibilities to family, friends, and career. After all, when we're accountable to another person, the results we achieve create consequences within our relationship with that person. We don't notice the consequences within the relationship with ourselves when we miss a commitment to ourselves (which doesn't mean there isn't one!).

Sometimes it's an internal saboteur, such as our fears about failure, about success, or about change. We have a goal, but we procrastinate because it's easier than facing the fear.

As a coaching client, sometimes I think, "I should be able to achieve these goals without my coach's help; why don't I just sit myself down and do the things I want to do?" But without exception, I get more of my goals done with a coach than without one.

Not because the coach does the task for me or with me, but in part because I declare my goal to another person who will hold me accountable for the commitments I make to myself. And in part because I am more conscious of my process, my habits, and my stumbling blocks, such that I approach the setting and working of my goals with more self-awareness. It seems so simple, yet it is so powerful.

As you set your new year's resolutions, if there is one or more that you are serious about achieving, you might consider getting the help of a coach.