Us coaches love an end goal. Where are you headed? What’s your target? Know where you’re going and you’ll go far! However, once that’s established, it’s easy to lose your way. Overwhelm can set in and you get stuck in inaction. It all feels too much. Too big.

 

I have a solution!

A simple number line will help you recognise where you are now so you can work out what to do next.

Below are three steps you can take to get you where you want to go, so grab a pen and get cracking…

 

1) Capture a moment in time

 

On a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is everything is just as you want it to be, where would you say you are today when it comes to happiness, health, wealth, career, relationships?

Be honest. Don’t overthink it. What does your instinct say?

Your numbers might be high. They might be low. They might be a mixed bag. They’re as unique as you are, so never compare. What you’ve got is a basic snapshot of your life today.

 

2) Visualise success

 

Now, how clear are you about what 10 looks like for each of these areas? What does success look like? How will you know when you’ve got there? What will be happening? What’s the end goal? How will you feel? Take time to write down what your 10/10 is for each of these categories.

Now you know where you’re aiming (10/10), and where you are today.

 

3) Take the next step

 

Focusing on one of those areas, and the number you feel you are today, ask yourself what will be happening to get you to the next number along the line. So, if you’re a 3/10 in health, what will be happening for you to confidently say you’re a 4?

This is your next step. You can do this for each area of your life, adding your own titles.

 

 

Why does this work? Because we get a little too fixated on big and lofty end goals and tend to forget all the steps along the way that get us there. Those steps are essential. If you’re a 1/10, there’s no way you’re going to get to 10/10 in one leap, so your first focus is to get to 2.

And before you know it, you’ll be looking back over a month (and then a year) feeling proud that in November 2022 you were a 1/10 and now you’re getting closer to the 10 that you’ve defined. Soon enough, all those little steps add up to one big leap forward.

Emily Bal has been helping people through coaching for the last six years and uses the number line in almost every session. Often the simplest solutions are the best. You can read more about Emily on her coach profile page.

 

 

November 1, 2022