How to move forward

Imagine trying to driving a car while constantly looking in the rear view mirror. It wouldn’t take long for you to run into trouble . . . literally. Sure, we need to take a quick look back occasionally. Driving experts will tell you it’s a good idea to know what’s going on all around you as it reduces your reaction time in the event of an emergency. However, we all know you don’t keep looking back (unless, of course, you are reversing!). Most of the action is going on ahead of you so that’s where you should concentrate.

So why is it that people lead their lives doing the equivalent? They spend their time focussing on the past rather than looking ahead to the future and then wonder why they get hit by an oncoming truck that causes their life to come to a screaming halt.

Moving forward can be easy . . . when you know how. Here is my simple 4 step formula for becoming a forward thinker.

1. Clear out the past
Is your focus on the past preventing you from moving forward with your career and your life?  It’s fairly easy to tell if someone is living in the past because they have difficultly letting go. Some obvious signs are:

• How you look (old hair styles and fashion styles)
• What you do (stuck in the same habits)
• What you say (I remember when . . . )
• What you think (feeling your best days are behind you)

On way to symbolically let go of the past is to get rid of unnecessary possessions that remind you of the past. Whether it is clothes, papers or equipment the act of clearing out the past will create room for you to move ahead.

2. Picture your future
Get really clear on what sort of future you want. Here are a couple of ways to do it:

Write a story or a newspaper article about what you would like your life to be in 5 or 10 years from now. What would you have achieved? What would you be most proud of? What would you have stopped or started doing?

Using images can be a very powerful way of capturing what is important to you. So why not draw a picture of what your life would be like in the future or clip out photos from magazines that show what you want.

3. Create opportunities
To create more opportunities you have to be in the right place at the right time. Get involved at work and in your community, volunteer for anything that looks like it might help.

Start to hang out with people who are doing what you want to do and it will rub off. I have seen this work first hand . . .

I was working in Human Resources and wanted to get into corporate training and eventually professional speaking so I enrolled in an Adult Education degree. At first I felt a bit of an outsider because I wasn’t working in the field but within 3 months I had the ideal job that was a springboard to my eventual success in the area.

One of the lecturers had told a group of us who were all in the same situation that the quickest way to get what you wanted was to hang out with people who were already doing it. Some of my university colleagues actually got jobs this way, which leads me onto step 3.

4. Tell others about your opportunities
Don’t keep your plans to yourself . . . tell people about the opportunities you are looking for because you never know who they know or how they might be able to help you. There is nothing more disappointing than finding out about an opportunity after the event because someone didn’t know you were interested in that sort of thing! Start a list today of the people who might be able to help you with the opportunities you are seeking.

But a word of warning . . . make sure you pick the right people to tell! There are lots of well meaning friends and family out there who will try to talk you out of your future dreams. Avoid the negative people and focus on the positive ones who understand your motivation!

Not only does telling others help you to get clear on exactly what it is you want, it also acts as a great way to reduce procrastination and prevent lack of follow through. If you have told a bunch of people you want to do something, then they are going to check and see if you have done it and if you haven’t then why not!

Karen Schmidt from Let’s Grow! is an award winning speaker, workshop leader and facilitator who is on a mission to grow managers into engaging leaders. Contact her on 0411 745 430 or visit www.letsgrow.com.au