5 Questions to Reach the Next Level of Your Personal Evolution
What happens when you imagine being at the next level of your work or business?
What does the next level of your personal evolution look like? How do you feel?
Like many people, you may strive toward big dreams and a more desirable future. You may have started the year with new resolutions and new goals (or still working on the old ones).
To achieve that, you are required to improve, evolve, change – becoming a better version of yourself.
Let’s face it. We can’t face the new year with the same old self and expect a better outcome. And according to Dr. Marshall Goldsmith (author of What Got You Here Won’t Get You There), factors that brought us success and results in the past cannot help us in the next level. A new level will require new sets of strategy, skills, knowledge, tools, plans, resources, etc. It may even require a new shift in paradigm and mindset.
It’s common to see many of my clients who do not know how or where to begin the change. They need courage to face the reality of themselves.
This post serves as a brief guide with a series of coaching questions to help you begin your journey of change.
1) What does the next level of ________________ look like to you?
Perhaps you want to evolve into becoming a better coach, entrepreneur, sales consultant, marketer, organizational leader, or whatever it is you do.
Your question is unique to you.
Be creative and vivid in imagining your answers. You can paint the ideal picture of your next level in terms of the parameters listed below (Describe in as much detail as you can):
- Environment – Describe the location of your work (physical and non-physical). Do you have multiple locations? Can you work at anywhere?
- People – Who works with you? Who are the people in your team? What’s required to be in your team?
- Mood in the organization – What do your co-workers or business partners feel? What’s the energy level? The dynamics?
- Clients – Who are your best clients? What are their biggest pains and needs?
- Products, Services, Solutions – How do you serve your best clients? What are the suite of products you offer?
- Alliances – Who are your strategic partners and associates? What are the criteria to be one of your alliances?
- Position in Industry – What would you have achieved at the next level? How do you rank against your competitors and players in the same industry?
- Values – What do you really stand for? What matters?
- Meaning – Above all, what fulfillment and satisfaction do you experience?
2) Why aren’t you already __________________ ?
If you are an entrepreneur, for example, what are the reasons you have not achieved your goal of ______________ (be specific)?
If you are a writer aiming to publish a bestseller, what are the reasons your books have not reached the top of the bestseller list?
Why aren’t you where you want to be?
This question requires an honest (and hard) look at tensions between where you are and where you want to be, and who you are and who you want to be.
3) What needs to happen for you to reach the next level?
If you do not know where to begin, start with the following areas within your circle of control:
- Mindset – What mindset is essential to your success at the next level?
- Belief system – What are your existing beliefs that are limiting you? What are the new empowering beliefs you can use?
- Habits – What are the new habits to adopt? What are the unhelpful habits you can drop?
- Knowledge – How can you identify and gain the necessary knowledge? Where do you save and aggregate your pool of information?
- Skillset – How do you rate your current proficiency level? How can you improve your skills?
- Toolset – What new tools should be added into your toolbox?
- Systems – Your systems are perfect for the results they generate. How can you change/improve/overhaul them to get the desired results? What integration/disintegration needs to happen?
- Team – Will you work alone? Who do you need to come onboard? Where and how can you find the right people for the right job?
- Resources – What other resources will you need? How can you get them? Who can support you?
I think you get the idea. You may also think of something not mentioned above, which is essential to what you do.
In whatever journey of change you wish to embark, always count the cost. How much are you willing to invest in yourself?
It’s a good idea to model after a mentor or someone that is already at the level you desire. The model serves as a benchmark and direction for you to grow toward.
4) What do you need to discard along the way to the next level?
What is draining you of your time, energy and resources? How can you reduce or eliminate them?
What can you outsource or delegate?
What distractions do you need to get rid off?
What has served you well up until now, and can no longer help you to get to the next level?
What are your old attachments that no longer have any value?
What are the regrets (past) and worries (future) you can let go of? And the emotional baggage that come with them.
5) What are the steps you will take today, even if it is a small step?
Don’t be daunted by what’s listed above. Sometimes, all it takes is one key insightand one action to begin. And that will spark the whole evolution journey.
Let your innate wisdom be your guide along the way.
This brief guide is not meant to be exhaustive, but I hope it helps to trigger an insight or two to help you evolve into a better version of yourself.
At any point of your journey, it’s always good to reflect on these 3 questions:
- What is my evolving journey teaching me at this point?
- Who am I becoming?
- How does this benefit the world around me?
“The major value of life is not what you get. The major value of life is what you become.” ~ Jim Rohn
reference - journey coaching
You might also be interested to read:
- Heal the Boy and the Man will Appear
- Breaking the Habits of Yourself
- Meditation for Breaking the Habits of Yourself
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My mission is simple. I want to help successful people achieve positive lasting change of habits; for themselves, their families, and their teams. I want to help you make your life better. With decades of experience helping top CEOs and executives overcome limiting beliefs and recognize sabotaging habits to achieve greater success. Why do I do this? I do this because I love helping people!
As an executive educator and coach, I help people understand how our beliefs and the environments we operate in can trigger negative behaviors. Through a simple and practical habit finder coaching assessment, I help people achieve and sustain positive behavioral change.
