It’s Monday, ladies and I am so proud of everyone who got moving and experienced the thrill of momentum towards more JOY this past week by trying out the planner sheets! Today I wanted to share the final learning from this exercise which is movement turns into a superpower when it is powered by a GROWTH mindset.

This past April, I had the privilege of hearing Carol Dweck, author of the book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, speak at an event in California. I grabbed the book, poured over her words and have not been the same since. In fact, I’m not sure I can name a book that has had such an immediate impact on my life. Below are two scenarios to demonstrate a growth vs. fixed mindset as we try to make changes in our lives to cultivate more of what we want. I’ll use getting 10,000 steps in a day as the example of something you chose to create more room for in your schedule these past two weeks.

Scenario 1: You came out of the gates SLAYING DRAGONS. Not only did you get up at 6 am to walk for 45 minutes to get your 10,000 steps, you crushed it at 15,426 steps. Day two had you running in place as your brushed your teeth before bed to cross the 10,000 step threshold and the wheels fell off on day three because, because, because and you gave up for the remainder of the week. All or nothing. I already blew it, therefore I am done. I’ll try again next week. Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow.

Sound familiar? Great news – you are suffering from a fixed mindset and there is a remedy. It is the process of cultivating a growth mindset. Check out the next scenario to see how the growth mindset plays out the same scenario.

Scenario 2: You came out of the gates SLAYING DRAGONS. Not only did you get up at 6 am to walk for 45 minutes to get your 10,000 steps, you crushed it at 15,426 steps. Day two had you running in place as your brushed your teeth before bed to cross the 10,000 step threshold and the wheels fell off on day three. So you snagged some time at the end of day three to reflect on what was happening. You approached the inconsistency with curiosity because there was something to learn about yourself in there. You asked yourself some questions:

What changed? What got in the way? What do I need to do differently to stay consistent? What triggered me to fall off the wagon? What can I do tomorrow to still make the most of this week? What boundaries can I put in place to keep me on track next time? What might I need to change about my goal to be successful? What will help me be more accountable?

A growth mindset leaves room for grace and course correcting. A growth mindset views what you are cultivating more of (in this case getting 10,000 steps a day) as data to help you be successful, not an absolute. A growth mindset eradicates perfection, the all or nothing thinking so many of us are crippled by. A growth mindset allows you to pivot and to keep building momentum, vs. heading back to the shore to relaunch your boat every single time. A growth mindset eradicates the insanity that doing the same thing and expecting different results creates. A growth mindset creates a continuous series of steps so the wheels stop spinning. A growth mindset leads to momentum and the rutter is now useful. A growth mindset fills your sails with wind and allows you to focus on refining the path from all that you are learning, instead of starting and stopping. A growth mindset cultivates a much, much kinder internal dialogue. A growth mindset is your secret superpower to bridging the gap to wherever you want to go in this life and it is yours for the taking – I hope you’ll grab it with both hands!

Thanks so much for joining me! I hope you have found some nuggets in the Shepherd Your Dash series that you can use to help you get more of what you want from this precious gift of life.

If you want to dive deeper – today is the last day to register for the Shepherd Your Dash group coaching experience. Here are some things you can expect to get out of the 5 weeks we’ll spend together.

  • First, we’ll build on the foundation we have built here, by taking the Shepherd Your Dash planner pages we’ve been using and customizing the ways that the days are set up to fit your specific needs. Want your planner to start at 4 am because you are a morning person? Done! You’re a night person so you need the hours of the day to go through 12 am. Done! Want your week to start on Sunday? Done! Want bold boundary lines put in at various times during the days to set you up with some visual boundaries? Done!
  • Next, we’ll tackle all that white space below (or above if that is visually best for you!) at the bottom of the planner pages we’ve been using. We’ll work through different strategies on how you could organize your planner around your life. This area works great to provide a space to prioritize the tasks and/or projects that fight for your attention. Want time blocks aligned under each day? Done! Want four bigger time blocks to span the days for the major areas you are responsible for in your life? Done! Want to set up a tracking system to help you execute your marketing? Done! Want a combination of everything? Done!
  • Finally, we’ll customize the bar on the right (or maybe you want it on your left? Or in the middle?). This area could provide a space for weekly goals, an area for meal planning or a parking lot for non-essential to-dos and errands. Maybe you want an area to write out your mission each week, a place to add inspiring quotes or to write out scripture you are memorizing for the week. It’s the final touch to making these planner sheets YOURS!
  • In addition to customizing the planner, we’ll walk through prioritizing strategies (called WIGS and PIGS) for your to-do’s so you can learn to make better choices with how you use your time.
  • We’ll walk through project blocking and adding buffers within your schedule for non-essential filler tasks.
  • We’ll fine tune and do some one-on-one coaching around what a realistic week looks like for you and what is getting in the way.
  • And finally, we’ll make final edits to your pages to get them just right for you! At the end of the 5 weeks, you’ll have PDF’s to print and get busy making the most of the rest of 2017.
  • I’ve created a PDF with some samples of what different scenarios might look like HERE.

And… there’s more beyond the weekly pages to the Shepherd Your Dash planning system. I hope we know each other well enough that you weren’t surprised that I’ve got an entire system to go along with the weekly planner pages, ha! There’s a Monthly, Quarterly and Yearly Dash planning system, along with a Daily Dash worksheet that I fill out M-F to ensure I move things forward. I’ll be putting together a Shepherd the Dash Part 2 workshop and sneaking it in before the new year. By being part of the group coaching experience, not only will you keep chipping away and gaining more awareness around your life –  you’ll be able to get your entire planner customized and set up so you go rocking and rolling into 2018!

Love!

 

your very own superpower