Leaders Lead Themselves Archives

Why Less is More When It Comes to Goals

3 Steps to Goal Setting and Achieving

By Jalene Case

Envisioning a magical scenario in which you’re doing everything you want to is exhilarating, in the beginning. However, adding a dose of realism can give you the best chance of accomplishing what matters most to you.

I see this in myself, my clients, and my friends. We want to do it all right now! We have the best of intentions and list of exciting to dos. Fanning the “do it all” flame is an internal voice that says something like, “When I do it all, I’ll be happy.” Ouch.

From Remembering Learning to Imagining a Beautiful Future

By Ron Price

Here comes another “learning from 2020, leaning into 2021” article. You may be tired of seeing these by now, so why would I submit yet another one? Because this ability to reflect or self-evaluate and then to create specific intentions for the future is what sets human beings apart from everything else in life. I know you love your pets, but as far as we can tell, they only live in the present. They can’t identify what they are grateful for in the past, or create a vivid picture of what they want in the future. One of the great tragedies for any individual is to have the ability to change one’s future, and yet do nothing about it. This is why I’m asking you to read this article and then invest the time to sharpen your intentions and create a beautiful future.

Create a Goal System that Works for You

13 Ideas to Get Started

By Jalene Case

Simply setting a goal and expecting to reach it is a recipe for ongoing angst. A goal you truly desire to achieve needs a solid foundation, stepping stones, and tenacious support.

Conversations with my clients lately almost always include the mention of goal-setting. While that may sound logical, that’s not the energy I sense. I hear things like, “I should set some goals for next year. I really want to set some goals but I’m no good at it. I’ve tried doing the goal thing but it doesn’t work for me.” The energy I sense is frustration, self-judgement, and desperation.

How Can Challenges Inspire You To Think Differently

Dr. Francis Eberle, HR.com, November 2020

When I was in graduate school for my doctoral degree, I submitted a paper to a well-respected professor. Afterward, he asked to meet and inquired whether English was my second language. It wasn’t. At the time, I was working full time, had a young family and commuted 1.5 hours each way to the school several nights a week, getting home at midnight. I was often very tired. I could have blamed these circumstances, but I knew better.

5 Tips to Habits that Fit Your Life Now

By Jalene Case

Positive habits result in a sweet sense of satisfaction. Are your habits doing that for you? If not, it might be time to strengthen the routines you want to keep and toss the ones that no longer serve you.

This is personal for me. My habits have changed dramatically to fit a 35-year corporate career, two years of traveling by motorcycle in Latin America, and three years of running a business. Each of those areas required very different routines. I bet your helpful habits have changed over the years, too.

Growing Our Circle of Control

By Ron Price

“We can choose our thoughts, attitudes and actions, but we cannot choose the consequences of our thoughts, attitudes and actions, because whatever we sow will be multiplied back to us.” Price Family Proverb

In a time of turmoil and uncertainty, it makes a big difference what we focus on. We can fill our days and minds with fear, frustration, anger, worry and anxiety. There is certainly tremendous opportunity to focus on this in the current environment. There is much wrong in the world and plenty of people who want to tell us about it.

What’s in Your Self-Resource Toolbox?

By Jalene Case

“We have exceeded our surge capacity,” is a phrase I heard recently from Jennifer Louden. I thought, “Yes! That’s what it feels like! My inner surge protector is fried.” At the same time, I realized that I’ve been learning, along with my clients, friends, and family, how to survive the recent deluge of disasters. I bet you have, too.

Changes, especially uncontrollable changes, can leave you craving a way to get beyond the tornado of emotions so you can stand on firm ground again. How can you help yourself move forward? Self-resourcing. By gathering support resources, you can be there for yourself, and as a result, be there for the people you care about most.

Move from Blocking to Supporting Yourself

By Jalene Case

“I’m my own worst enemy!” Have you ever said this or heard a friend or colleague say it? It can feel frustrating and demotivating to know precisely what we want to accomplish yet take actions that move us in the opposite direction. How can you get out of your own way and support yourself in getting more of what you want?

After working in organizations for more than three decades, I started my own business a few years ago. It surprised me that the gnarliest challenges came from inside me, not from the external skills I was learning. Internal voices that overly criticized and structures that didn’t work blocked me from reaching my goals, dreams, and life purpose. Yes. It’s a big deal! Growing skills to support ourselves is essential if we want to create purposeful, meaningful, lives we love.

The Power of Coming Back to Your Foundation

emotional intelligence, values, creating your life

By Jalene Case

Experiencing imbalance and balance is part of living. How might we lead ourselves from chaos to order? Carl Jung said, “In all chaos there is a cosmos, in all disorder a secret order.” There’s a new way forward waiting for you to discover it. Before making direction-changing decisions, check the integrity of your foundation. Who are you now?

During a coaching session, my client was grappling with a decision that would change the trajectory of her career. She felt clear about what she didn’t want; however, the vision for what she wanted was still fuzzy. We were working together on clarifying her future when she brilliantly said, “I want to revisit my foundation.” To her that meant recognizing what she learned in her current professional role over the last several years, plus naming her values, priorities, and focus.

Drop Your Armor to Get What You Want

By Jalene Case

What would it look like to drop the armor you’ve been using to defend yourself? What are you protecting yourself from? I believe we want to shield our soul’s desires because we don’t want to risk injuring them. The crazy thing is that when we keep them locked up in a tower with the draw bridge lifted, we block out fulfillment, accomplishment, and joy.

A coaching client shared that she wanted to drop her armor and put down her weapons. The declaration surprised me because we were talking about what she wanted to do, not what someone else was asking her to do. As we dug deeper, she realized that she was blocking herself with unhelpful, unkind thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and actions. Knowing what she wanted was not the problem. Allowing herself to make progress toward her practical goals and soul’s desires was the challenge she faced.

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Why Less is More When It Comes to Goals

From Remembering Learning to Imagining a Beautiful Future

Create a Goal System that Works for You

How Can Challenges Inspire You To Think Differently

5 Tips to Habits that Fit Your Life Now

Growing Our Circle of Control

What’s in Your Self-Resource Toolbox?

Move from Blocking to Supporting Yourself

The Power of Coming Back to Your Foundation

Drop Your Armor to Get What You Want

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