What does your dart board look like? Where are you heading?

People often focus on just one type of goal, when you can have a variety of different ones. I sometimes use the ‘wheel of life’ with coaching clients if they want to look at their whole life. There are lots of different examples of 'wheels of life' online. 

These kinds of instruments can be useful to evaluate where you are spending your time and energy, and they look a bit like a dartboard! You can create your own which has the sectors that are important to you in your life.

While it is traditional to do one, you could do one for business or work, and another for out of work.

Dartboard for business/work – in which areas do you need to focus attention in the coming year? This will vary depending on your business or role but you might want to think about:

  • core or essential activities - daily, weekly, monthly.
  • long term goals and strategy
  • relationships in the workplace which need fostering
  • different roles that you play
  • administration
  • personal and professional development
  • corporate social responsibility

Dartboard for life – what is important to you?

  • family and friends
  • partner
  • health and well-being - physical, emotional and mental
  • career
  • money/finances
  • creativity and hobbies
  • recreation and fun
  • personal growth
  • life purpose
  • spirituality
  • voluntary work

Dartboard for being – this might be included in the dartboards above, or in a separate one. It is important to focus on not just what you are going to be doing, or what you want to have in your life, how do you want to be?

  • Happy?
  • Healthy?
  • Content?
  • Joyful?
  • Relaxed?
  • Trusting?
  • Excited?

It is absolutely vital to do this as otherwise you can find that you are busy achieving and doing, but you feel exhausted, stressed out, and dissatisfied.

"Learn from the past, set vivid, detailed goals for the future, and live in the only moment of time over which you have any control: Now." Denis Waitley

What darts do you have? 

I know absolutely nothing about darts! However, I am guessing that they do differ and as with all sports equipment, there are some which are better than others. So taking the analogy further, what darts do you need to ensure that you can hit the dartboard of life? Think about your:

  • Mindset: I have put this first as your mindset will have a big impact on all the the following points. 
  • Confidence or conviction: I often ask clients when they set action plans, and I sense that they are not 100% convinced of achieving them: On a scale of 0 ("it is never going to happen") and 10 ("yes I am absolutely sure it will happen") where are you? If they are less than eight, we discuss what is it that they are concerned about. And it is often when the really deep work starts to take place. 
  • Skills and knowledge: Is there some knowledge that you need to learn or skills you need to develop or enhance in order to achieve your goals?
  • Resources: What resources do you need to draw on to keep yourself moving forward? People, financial, time? Do you need a coach, mentor or counsellor to help you keep moving forward?
  • Strategy: Many of us end up very good at fire fighting and we never find time to sit back and create a strategy. Whether you want to find a new job, develop a new hobby or a new business idea in 2017, you need to have a plan and strategy as to how you get there.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." Mark Twain

Keeping the light on

The analogy we started with was, "it is like throwing darts in the dark". Now you might have a clear picture of the dartboard/wheel of life for 2017, you might have your darts to get you there but how can you ensure the lights stay on? What I mean by this is when the going gets tough how do you keep motivated and inspired?

  • Are you good at dealing with obstacles? Our ability to deal with obstacles often makes the difference between success and failure.
  • Are you able to learn from mistakes? Mistakes, failures, slip ups will be part of the journey, will you end up simply beating yourself up, or learn from them and move on. 
  • Are you good at asking for help? It is a delusion to think that you can do it all on your own. Our ability to identify who can support you and to ask for support is an essential ingredient in being successful both in work and outside of work.

"You will pass through storms and heavy rains, and at times you may suffer defeat. The essence of the creative life, however, is not to give up in the face of defeat, but to follow the rainbow that exists within your heart." Daisaku Ikeda

The views expressed in this article are those of the author. All articles published on Life Coach Directory are reviewed by our editorial team.

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Kidlington OX5 & New Malden KT3
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Written by Melanie Greene, AFBPS, MSc Free coaching audit for all prospective clients
Kidlington OX5 & New Malden KT3

Melanie Greene is an occupational psychologist, NLP master practitioner with over 30 years of experience. She works as a coach, trainer and mediator in a wide variety of businesses, specialising in communication issues in the workplace and helping people to learn how to manage the pressures and stresses of work and life.

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