I mentioned in a previous post that you needed to recognize and acknowledge your strengths and quit focusing on the tasks that you are simply not good at. That does not mean, however that you should not try to improve on those subpar tasks or reach out to learn or experience new skills or adventures.

Sometimes these new adventures will turn out to be a new passion of yours. Sometimes those new adventures will cause you to fall flat on your face, literally.

Recently my ex-husband took our daughter to the rodeo. They had several "kid friendly" activities including an inflatable climbing wall with slide. When children got to the top they had the option of going down the slide or jumping down onto a pad which was an eight or nine foot drop.

Mika (who is five) climbed up the wall and stood at the top deciding whether to jump or go down the slide. She stood there for a couple of moments considering her options; she then told her dad that she was going to jump. Now you are supposed to jump feet first so that you can land on your bottom or your back, Mika however flipped forward and landed face first.

When she got to her dad she did not cry but she did tell him that it hurt a lot. When he asked her if she wanted to go again she simply said no. I do not think that her falling on her face will keep her from leaping off the edge when she is older -- however it might. If it does… at least she tried a new experience.

After falling on her face, Mika then tried an actual 25-foot rock climbing wall. She was harnessed in by the attendant and told that there was no way for her to fall. She was able to climb about 9 feet on her own and then she had trouble reaching the hand and foot holds. The attendant asked her if she wanted to come down or if she wanted the attendant to help pull her up to the top. Mika chose to be mostly pulled to the top (with a tiny bit of foot and hand holding) and let down by the attendant. When she came home she told me how much she loves rock climbing. I am sure that we will have many future trips to the local rock-climbing gym.

Make a list of what you are interested in trying, learning or experiencing. Think of different ways to learn tasks that fit the way you like to learn. I have a friend that teaches creative thinkers how to make a visual business plan. Personally, I cringe at the idea of creating a vision board however a written plan fills me with glee.

Once you have brainstormed new ideas, choose one item from your list and figure out how you are going to do it. If you want to skydive, you will probably need to have lessons. If you want to write a book, create a writing plan of X number of words per day or week.

With each task or experience your confidence in your ability to adapt will continue to grow.

Until next time…

Have a great day,
Susanne

Click here to get help developing or implementing your strategic plan.

Today’s secret of confidence might be the most important -- track your success. By tracking your success you have tangible evidence of your progress. In part five, I mentioned my three-year debt pay off plan that took four years to complete. Tracking my success (and sometimes lack of) motivated me to continue even when I did not meet my goals.

Tracking your success also helps you make adjustments as you go. Suppose you have a goal to add 600 subscribers to your email list this year. You plan to speak at four events and have booths at two shows. After one speaking event and one show you have 100 new subscribers. With these numbers you realize you need more effort to reach 600 so you run Facebook ads promoting your email giveaway four times to help reach your goal.

Tracking your success also combines nicely with rewards. I have recently started teaching my 5-year-old daughter how to read. I am working on her sight words because I know she will be taught phonics when she starts kindergarten in two weeks and I do not want to start her on a process that may be different from what she will be taught at school.

She has known all her letters since she was two, but has resisted my efforts to teach her words until now. What has changed? One, she is older and better understands the importance of reading. Two, we created a tracking and rewards system.

When I (or another family member) read a book to her, I pause at the words she knows like “the” and “and”. When she reads those words she earns a sticker. She can earn 50 or more stickers a book just on the ten words she knows so far. She loves placing the stickers on the grid pages I created.

The reward does not stop there. Before we started this system we went to the One Dollar store and she chose ten prizes. When she fills a sticker page (196 stickers) she gets to have one of her prizes. You would be amazed at how motivated to read she is when a page gets about three-fourths full. She sees the end and hurries toward it.

Everybody will have a tracking system that works best for them. I love spreadsheets. You may use an app on your phone. You could paste pictures on poster board. You might find writing in a notebook motivates you. There is no wrong way as long as it works for you.

Each success that you have and goal that you achieve gives you a little bit more confidence to continue to push yourself forward.

Until next time…

Have a great day,
Susanne


Learn how to get the life results you need. Get started with this 5-day eCourse.