Did you recently have a moment where you were really excited about achieving something?
But when it came to actually taking action... nothing happened?
It can be difficult to make decisions, or take action, when we feel conflicted or confused.
It is difficult to move forward when you feel overwhelmed, stuck or lack the confidence to take action.
What I know is that it becomes easier to take action in the present when we can picture ourselves in the future already having achieved the results we want. When we can picture ourselves on the other side of our current obstacles or challenges, feelings of anxiety and self-doubt are replaced with clarity, focus and confidence.
When we can feel and see ourselves having achieved the results we want in the future, we feel more capable to take action in the present. One of the first things I do with my coaching clients is to get them to get clear on their future goals and picture themselves in the future having already achieved those goals.
This is where we start working on the process of reverse engineeringtheir goals. Picturing yourself on the other side of a difficult situation, decision or challenge brings greater clarity to the actions you can take today. When you can visualise what you want to achieve in the future it becomes easier to understand what you need to do in the present.
The term “reverse engineering” sounds complicated but it really isn’t.
Reverse engineering your goals means you start with the end and move backwards.
You plot how you get to where you want to be.
Essentially, there are only four steps to reverse engineering your goals.
1-Define Your Actual Goal
This is where you want to be—your end state.
First you have to be crystal clear on what exactly your goal is.
Get specific. What exactly is your goal and when do you want it by?
What’s your timeframe?
How will you know you’ve achieved it?
2-Define Your Starting Point
This is where you are at right now.
Where you are right now is ground zero. This is your starting line.
But no matter what your goal is, you already have some skills to bring to the table.
You’re never starting completely from scratch.
3-Define Your Journey
This is the journey you are taking to realize your goal—the steps you will be taking to change your current situation.
Take the end point of your goal – your finish line – and, working backwards, figure out how you get there.
Identify as many steps as possible that are required to reach the goal and put it into a timeline.
What do you need to do to? How do you do it?
What do you need to know?
What skills do you need to develop?
Who can you talk to -who has done it before-?
Is there an expert you can talk to that will give you some insight?
4-Define Your Milestones
Milestones are little markers along your journey that remind you of how far you’ve come.
They are almost like mini-goals where you can celebrate and reflect on what’s going well and what’s not going well.
Milestones are powerful because they demonstrate forward progress in your project plan.
They enable to view progress and judge priorities. And they help you monitor deadlines, identify important dates, and recognize potential bottlenecks within the project.
Once you have your plan and clearly know what you need to do, in what order,
the only thing left to do is...
getting things done, one by one!
The first time on your own, it can be difficult to picture your future self and work on the reverse engineering process, without the guidance, right kind of questions, mindset, and expertise.
But once you master the process, this process will give you the clarityand confidence to move through uncertainty and complication to reach your goals again and again.
This achievement mindset helps you feel clearer and more confident about taking action in the present.
If you have a specific challenge, or a project you're going through right now, try imaging yourself in the future having achieved the result you want and follow the 4 steps of reverse engineering as I mentioned above.
Give it a try and let me know how you get on.👇🏻
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