When I do a Google search on the meaning of Hustle, a few phrases pops up – push roughly, jostle, a state of great activity. To me, when I think of the word hustle, I liken it to the work that I do in business. Great activity takes great energy, and with that, lots of hard work. It means, doing the things others won’t do, to go above and beyond the expected, to work smarter, and to do it with joy. I also sometimes get tired thinking about it, even before I start any work.
Why are there false starts in life? We say we want to achieve something but yet, nothing gets done. One of the things I wrote down on my 2020 goals list is to organize a parenting workshop or conference by the end of 2020. GOSH, I have 2 more months till the end of 2020, and I am FAR, FAR AWAY from achieving this goal.
When we talked about false starts in this webinar, I could totally relate to all these points.
- Self-sabotage – Before we even begin, our mind sabotages our plans by bringing up self-defeating thoughts…”Hey, you’re not really that good. What makes you think anyone would even come for that workshop? You don’t have any qualifications, you’re nobody.” A lot of it has to do with self-worth and confidence. We make excuses and over-criticise ourselves. The question is, do we listen to our inner voice, or do we rise up to silence it?
- Tomorrow – Gosh, procrastination is a huge word in my vocabulary. This gap between intention and action sometimes looks like a chasm. We can wait for that perfect timing, the perfect scenario… we can deliberate, plan, think and think but that perfect moment never arrives. I’ve learnt that going against the grain of emotion helps me overcome procrastination. Telling myself to get a move on despite how I feel helps me address this issue in my life, step by step.
- Unworthiness – Back to point 1 – can we tell ourselves, “I am enough. I have what it takes to succeed. I can do this.” Some people totally destroy their chances of a better future because they think that they are unworthy of success and happiness. I have a friend like this, whenever something good happens to her, she thinks that it is something temporary. Soon, she believes, something will come and strip away her success, and she remains in this state of mediocrity, never feeling as if she is worthy of anything good.
- Certainty – As human beings, the need to be in control is so strong. We hate stepping into the unknown, and so we create jobs like Risk Management to help us navigate the unknown. We want to protect ourselves from being judged, or feeling incompetent especially when we don’t have all the answers. As for me, I feel that the uncertainty of not knowing whether people will attend the workshop stops me in my tracks.
- Scapegoat – When things are not going our way, we can easily blame other circumstances or people for standing in the way of our success. Having a scapegoat to blame is the perfect way to get out of our responsibilities. The excuses might seem valid, but in the end, we are stuck right where we started.
At the end of the day, we give our limitations too much power.
Hustling never happens if we only stop at thinking, with no actions to follow through.
7 hustle strategies to move forward
When you have a huge goal to achieve, sheer willpower is never going to be enough. These 7 strategies are crucial towards ensuring success.
- Let It Go – Our past failures or hurts can hold us back, but when we choose to let it go, we not only release the power it has on us, we learn from that experience. One of the hardest lessons I learnt in my years of business was partnering with the wrong person. One day, he did something that really hurt, and it was so painful at that time. I faced fears about the future, wondering if I could do things on my own without any support. I felt betrayed too but eventually, I learnt to let go of my bitterness. I learnt many lessons from that incident. Looking back now and seeing how far we have both come individually, I believe that it was something that was necessary at that point in time.
- Believe in your human potential – Every single person has the potential for greatness, even though they may not look the part right now. As a coach, I need to believe this first, even before the coachee believes it. Whatever their goal and dreams are, I want to help them throw away their limiting beliefs and spur them on, because they are worth it.
- Be 100% accountable – When I commit to a task, and someone asks me, “Did you do it?” I am totally held accountable to that task. It acts as a reminder for someone as forgetful as I am, but even more so, it tells me, “Hey, you’re still responsible for this task you said you would do. How badly do you really want to achieve this?”
- Find your support group – Other than the coach, our coachees really need to find their own support group. It’s always easier to keep going when you have others patting your back, and encouraging you on! The important thing here is to find people who believe in your vision… not blindly, but truly believe in you.
- It’s a journey – It takes a lot of resilience, perseverance and belief to keep hustling. Life is never a sprint, but it’s a marathon. No mountain is scaled without going through the hard roads. So much energy is needed for the journey. So keep hydrated and power on.
- Get desperate – How desperate are you to achieving your goals? A mediocre commitment gets mediocre results. When we allow our minds to think, “I’ll get this done one day. I have enough time on my hands.” we’ll never really get desperate until something changes. If you only had one more year to live, how desperate would you be now?
- Keep the faith – What are you anchored on, when the storms come? When things are not going your way, and the challenges seem insurmountable? What can continue to fuel you? What keeps us going and going and going? For me, I am anchored on this belief that God’s plans for me are good and that he made me unique, for a special task here on earth!
PAC
Taking a step back to look at the big picture, coaching can be summarized through these 3 words:
PERSPECTIVE – Where is our coachee at? We reframe their thoughts, which then changes their perspective, emotions and identity. A huge white sheet of paper looks clean, but when you see a small black dot on that sheet, your focus shifts to that problem. The black dot can look really irritating and huge to the coachee, but with a change of perspective, we can guide the coachee to see the big picture (the white sheet) and that the dot is only small compared to that white sheet.
AFFIRMATION – Remember that we might be the only person that is affirming them to their human potential. Reflecting back on our coachee’s talents and strengths will help them find encouragement to move forward.
CELEBRATION – Every step forward is a victory. Life is never simple and linear, but if we only keep moving forward, we will reach our goal. That is why the coachee needs us, every celebration moment moves them towards their goal.
Wow, it’s quite emotional for me, thinking that I am nearing the completion of my coaching certification course. It’s a huge milestone for me, and I celebrate this achievement! I never imagined myself as a life coach, but that dream has now become a reality.
I end this post with this artwork I created to remind myself on who I want to be. Hustling forward.
