When you find yourself in a challenging situation, you don’t always have access to mentors or great advice when you need them most.

How can you become your own coach and shift from overwhelm to calm confidence?

There is a stigma to coaching that it’s only about giving people advice; while this is true to an extent, it isn’t the whole story. The foundation of coaching is about asking the right questions at the right moment to help a client become more resourceful.

This process enables clients to tap into their inner knowing and wisdom and learn to do this independently.

Allow me to be your virtual coach and provide you with some vital questions you can ask yourself to navigate those crucial moments:

It’s so easy to get lost in the pattern of running on the proverbial treadmill but don’t feel you are getting anywhere. You are pushing yourself and working harder than ever, but it doesn’t feel like you are moving forward in your life.

I know you want to achieve success but have you stopped to consider what it will look like when you arrive?

It will look different based on your current life stages, but perhaps you defined success at a different time in your life and are having trouble reconciling where you are now and where you think you should be.

Maybe in your twenties, success meant being able to work hard and play hard. In your thirties, it meant finding a partner and starting a family. In your forties, it is more about contribution and making a difference? As you progress through your life stages, success will take on a new meaning.

Success doesn’t always have to equate to titles and financial freedom; have you ever reframed success as mental freedom? Perhaps success means slowing down to focus on your highest contribution and doing less but better?

Success means allowing yourself to take regular strategic pauses throughout your workdays, rest on weekends and enjoy the time with your family without the mental tug of war about what you should be doing.

You need to define what your version of success looks like. Most people are working towards something in their future that they already have today.

Are you too harsh on yourself? Suffering is caused when your blueprint of the world doesn’t match your current reality. If you continue the inner chatter that you are not good enough because you should be further along by now, you will only make yourself miserable.

You can either rethink your blueprint or decide to take a different set of actions to help you move closer to your goal.

The starting point is to pause and reflect on what the endpoint looks like. Maybe you have arrived and didn’t realise it? As Stephen Covey says, begin with the end in mind.

This is my default question when I feel stuck. When you think about advising your best friend on your problem, you begin to see the situation objectively because it isn’t so personal anymore.

Advising your best friend allows you to take an aerial view of the situation and look down on it. What can you see differently, or what haven’t you considered about the situation?

You could also write a letter to yourself from your mentor or someone you respect. If you have a work issue, you could write what Bill Gates or Steve Jobs would do — if they are people you admire. Author Derek Sivers suggests the following process:

“When I’m stuck on a problem and need their help, I take the time to write a good description of my dilemma before reaching out to them. I summarize the context, the problem, my options, and my thoughts on each. I make it as brief as possible so as not to waste their time.

Before sending it, I try to predict what they’ll say. Then I go back and update what I wrote to address these obvious points in advance. Finally, I try again to predict what they’ll say to this, based on what they’ve said in the past and what I know of their philosophy.

Then, after this whole process, I realize I don’t need to bother them because the answer is now clear”.

The truth is, you know the answer, and you know what to do. When you reframe the situation to someone else, it becomes easier to pull out the answers.

Have you ever had days where even though everything is fine, something feels off? You don’t truly have anything to complain about because you have your health, a job, a family and enough money to meet your monthly obligations, plus some spending money left over.

Despite this logic, it still feels like something is missing, but you can’t quite put your finger on it. When you look at what is missing, you gain insight into how to close the gap.

Maybe you are creative, but you don’t make time in your calendar because you feel it isn’t justified based on your workload or feel guilty about taking time for yourself. It could be something as simple as painting, baking, photography or a hobby you love.

Once you identify it, then take steps to schedule time in your calendar for this activity. You have to protect this time like a warrior and treat it with the same importance as anyone else you consider significant in your life.

Perhaps you are missing fun and adventure? How can you introduce this back into your world? Can it be as simple as playing board games with your family and friends on weekends or camping in your garden? Have you forgotten how to look forward to your weekends?

Maybe you crave novelty and a change of routine? Can this need be solved by taking yourself out for a special treat like your favourite coffee or walking with a friend?

In the hustle of the pandemic, it feels ludicrous to introduce more into your world. Sometimes, one missing ingredient can make the difference between a good dish and an unbelievable one. Don’t settle for good days; figure out your missing ingredient and take action.

You are probably so focused on the goal in front of you and the next big goal that you may have forgotten to acknowledge your previous wins. Take a pen and paper and write down your wins from the last 90 days.

I’m not suggesting you become complacent but celebrating your victories is precisely what will catapult you forward. Confidence comes from action, not thinking about taking action. When you acknowledge your wins, you are creating evidence that you are already successful in your life.

It is incremental nudges over time that moves you in the direction of your goals. You need to actively incorporate them into your toolkit so you can keep moving ahead.

You can either choose to be someone who has 20 years of experience or someone that repeats the same year 20 times.

Maybe you had some failures in the last 90 days; bring those in too. What lesson did you learn, and how did that experience set you up for what lies ahead?

Perhaps you fell into the micromanaging trap, and you lost one of your best employees. What did you learn from that? Maybe you learnt that doing too much without sufficient breaks will result in burnout and even more forced time off?

http://cpp.sh/8vi3w
https://ideone.com/qKu3o7
https://forums.ubisoft.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=2215
https://bitbin.it/msgreKB6/
https://paiza.io/projects/KEg-lDJIo7uw83ylSRN7Bg?language=php
https://ideone.com/keeFfZ
http://cpp.sh/8vi3w
https://ideone.com/QYkm9S
http://cpp.sh/8vi3w
https://paiza.io/projects/KohMPU2-xmV77swlD1HVtA?language=php
https://ideone.com/G7IC7o
http://cpp.sh/8vi3w
https://www.onlinegdb.com/1UP-XvTAm
https://pastebin.fun/
http://cpp.sh/8vi3w
https://justpaste.it/2artl
https://ideone.com/TbPetQ
https://pastelink.net/f2e6h8xs
https://ctxt.io/2/AABgduZBEw
https://paiza.io/projects/UNUfgpNUUJjtRNnU7IT10Q?language=php
https://paiza.io/projects/2IQ2ZticEMQll_ETtFlpiw?language=php
https://tautaruna.nra.lv/forums/tema/47164-dfgfd-fghf-hfgh-fghfgh/
https://caribbeanfever.com/photo/albums/dfsdf-sff-fsdfd-sdfsfsdf-ffd
https://webhitlist.com/photo/albums/fds-dsdsfdsfsdf-dfsdsfdf
http://zacriley.ning.com/photo/albums/dfsdsfds-fddfsdf-s-dsffdsdfs
https://www.onfeetnation.com/photo/albums/rose-parade-2022-live-strteam-free-reddit-2022
https://www.bankier.pl/forum/temat_sdfdf-dfgdfgdfg-dfg-dfg-dsfg,52001699.html
https://login.mail.goo.ne.jp/id/authn/LoginStart?Site=blog.goo.ne.jp&Success=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.goo.ne.jp%2Fadmin%2Fnewentry%2F
https://ide.geeksforgeeks.org/mSW6AbCYJq
http://www.scientix.eu/es_ES/web/scientix-cop-4/topic-1/-/message_boards/message/1148918
https://myclc.clcillinois.edu/web/jeff_test/tutoring/-/message_boards/message/32729089
http://mappingaset.bnpb.go.id/new/public/rumah/23931/tgk-zainal-abidin-758-
https://paste2.org/vDWfEbzV
http://controlc.com/781be7a1
https://www.guilded.gg/poloks-Battalion/overview/news/BRw58v86
https://www.guilded.gg/poloks-Battalion/overview/news/V6X8Av46
https://www.guilded.gg/poloks-Battalion/overview/news/jyPd2Zgy
https://www.guilded.gg/poloks-Battalion/overview/news/2lMk8YWy
https://www.guilded.gg/poloks-Battalion/overview/news/A6ezPJNy
https://www.guilded.gg/poloks-Battalion/overview/news/dl7091N6
https://www.guilded.gg/poloks-Battalion/overview/news/XRz42GK6
https://www.guilded.gg/poloks-Battalion/overview/news/7lxxkaYl
https://www.guilded.gg/poloks-Battalion/overview/news/dlvv3AMl
https://www.guilded.gg/poloks-Battalion/overview/news/Gl5GQOGy
http://cpp.sh/6whar
https://ideone.com/gMnGCb
https://forums.ubisoft.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=2215
https://bitbin.it/vGcThbDk/
https://paiza.io/projects/8T86mqKJKcs1P71B4qIjWw?language=php
https://ideone.com/NpVogN
http://cpp.sh/6whar
https://ideone.com/bGtHXY
http://cpp.sh/6whar
https://paiza.io/projects/7nhK3gYb-NUls57WWKHHkw?language=php
https://ideone.com/9YW0WX
http://cpp.sh/6whar
https://www.onlinegdb.com/2xZgayN5Y
https://pastebin.fun/fivf51qig0
http://cpp.sh/6whar
https://justpaste.it/95qr7
https://ideone.com/Z9OoIU
https://pastelink.net/udh507sm
https://ctxt.io/2/AABg-SE9EQ
https://paiza.io/projects/DvSnkXglLYysNZYFPQ_74w?language=php
https://paiza.io/projects/UCAcxl_zTsP0Um9UEAFREg?language=php
https://tautaruna.nra.lv/forums/tema/47164-dfgfd-fghf-hfgh-fghfgh/
https://caribbeanfever.com/photo/albums/fdsfdf-dffds-dfsfdfdfdssdffd
https://webhitlist.com/photo/albums/fdsffsff-sd-fds-sdf-f-f-dffssffd
http://zacriley.ning.com/photo/albums/ffdfdf-ffsddfs-fsf-sdf-dsf-sfsfdsfsfsd
https://www.onfeetnation.com/photo/albums/rose-parade-2022-live-strteam-free-reddit-2022
https://www.bankier.pl/forum/temat_sdfdf-dfgdfgdfg-dfg-dfg-dsfg,52001699.html
https://login.mail.goo.ne.jp/id/authn/LoginStart?Site=blog.goo.ne.jp&Success=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.goo.ne.jp%2Fadmin%2Fnewentry%2F
https://ide.geeksforgeeks.org/Q7hgiDwLy4
http://www.scientix.eu/es_ES/web/scientix-cop-4/topic-1/-/message_boards/message/1148933
https://myclc.clcillinois.edu/web/jeff_test/tutoring/-/message_boards/message/32729224
http://mappingaset.bnpb.go.id/new/public/rumah/23931/tgk-zainal-abidin-758-
https://paste2.org/BvNsE6L5
http://controlc.com/fd604dc5

Celebration doesn’t mean you need to spend money although you can if you would like to. It can be a mental gesture like seeing fireworks go off in your head or doing cartwheels, the floss dance — anything to acknowledge the great work you have done and how far you have come.

If you don’t make time for reflection, your experience becomes wasted and perhaps why you repeat the same mistakes.