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Invest in Yourself (The Journey Expands)

Invest in Yourself Review

I am so excited you are back to continue the “Invest in Yourself” journey. You are on a mission and as a Coach, I am here for support and to be a guide.

Over the last two months, we discussed “undertaking“, “favored” and “LOVE“. Let’s do a quick recap of the Invest in Yourself journey:

  • Undertaking is a pledge or promise. Everyone reading this blog should have “undertaking” as the most important self-investment.
  • “Favored” is granted out of goodness.
  • LOVE ( Look for Opportunities of Venture and Endorsement)

At this point, you should have identified the following for review, as we move along in the Invest in Yourself journey:

  • your mission/purpose/future and immediate goals (undertakings)
  • what you value
  • your untapped desire(s)
  • what you are afraid of losing

Have you completed the following assignments?

  • maintained a journal to document your thoughts and track your progress
  • tracked your progress in your journal
  • reviewed your list to determine what items are “obtainable” and “realistic”
  • thought about possible risks
  • promote yourself
  • never doubting, just believing

This month we will start the journey with evaluating your journal and discussing your support or your needs. What does support look like?

Let’s Pause

Before we go deeper into our journey, let’s do a check in. How are you doing? Are you just following the process with no emotions? If so, you are not investing in yourself. Any “process” dealing with self-improvement should be an emotional process. Even if you are an emotionless person. There should be some excitement and curiosity about your future, your newly found mission, or just the discovery of exploration. PAUSE. TAKE A DEEP BREATH. Are you invested? Are you ready to move forward? I should hear many cyber “YES’s”.

Review the ORs

In the second article, we completed an exercise of reviewing the list and indicating if each item was obtainable “o” or realistic “r”. Are most of your items obtainable and realistic? If not, you may want to take this time to reexamine the direction in your life and/or career. If yes, Congratulations you are on a great path, let’s continue with the momentum.

First, let’s start with the non “OR” items (item without both “o” and “r”). Examine why these items are not obtainable and/or realistic. You will need to determine if these are impossible or if “fear” is the unmentioned factor. We will address the “fear” factor to allow you to move forward.

FEAR Factor

What is FEAR? Frozen Emotions of Anxiety when discovering Richness.Click To Tweet Let me expand. Some people become frozen when they are discovering their undertaking/gifts/mission/purpose. They are afraid of the uneasiness and/or the unknown. Sometimes in life we want to control our destination. We don’t control anything. If we did, would there be an opportunity to celebrate our achievement, our hard work, and our undiscovered purpose. We are most excited and motivated by achieving set goals.

Just a Little FAITH

How do we remove fear? By FAITH (forward, accumulation, intention, trust and habit). Move forward with accumulation of intentions and trust by forming habits. Let’s make a habit of our intentions and trust. We must invest in ourselves and our passions. The more you invest, the greater the reduction of fear and the routine becomes a habit. As we discussed previously, investing in ourselves is like investing in the stock markets. We invest dollars in a stock we believe has growth potential. Our dollars do not increase immediately. We must be patient and give time for the stocks to grow and we must allocation additional funds. The stock market goes up and down based on events and other’s investments. Investing in yourself is no different. We must dedicate time, effort and money to flourish. When others see the dedication, they will invest as well. It is imperative to Invest in Yourself.

Measurable

Now that we have removed our FEARs and added FAITH, let’s continue with the OR exercise. Let’s move forward with the items that are both obtainable and realistic. Let’s add the measurement tool. We can start with timeframe.

Review the items and determine if the task should be implemented in incremental stages to achieve the goal. Separate the tasks by length of time needed to achieve a goal, i.e. one month, three months, six months and one year. Really take time to think about what needs to be done to achieve a goal. You don’t want to shorten your time or make the goal unattainable due to misjudgment. As you are reaching you goals, there may be barriers or delays, I would suggest re-evaluating your timelines. It is ok to extend a task due to unforeseen circumstances. However, one should not delay goals due to laziness or FEAR.

For the items missing and “o” or “r”, I would suggest putting these items on hold for now.

Support Needed

Take time to thoroughly think about what support looks like for you. Is it dedication of time, is it additional manpower, it is funds, etc.? You will need to review each listed item individually to determine what support is needed. Is the support needed available? If not, what is needed to make it available?

Once you have completed the measurable and support assignment, you will have an opportunity for review. I would love to see each person results. This is an opportunity for you to email me with your work for feedback with no commitments.

Until Next Time

The third journey involves deep thinking and planning. It is not an overnight task. It is all part of the investing in yourself journey. You have a month to complete the assigned task. I would recommend taking the entire month to evaluate and re-evaluate your commitment and support to carry out your desires.

I know this journey may be a new process, however, stay encouraged.  You are doing well.  Let’s continue to reach your potential(s).

Do You Need a Partner?

If you are stalled and don’t know how to identify support, it may be time to partner with a Coach. MJ Professional Coaching is eager to work with you to uncover your full potential.

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About Michelle Jolley

Michelle Jolley is a Professional Coach and the founder of MJ Professional Development Company. MJ Professional Development Company was originally established to assist individuals in developing marketable skills for the corporate industry. Over the years, Michelle has witnessed individuals and organizations having a greater need for coaching. As a result, she decided to expand her horizon and reach a greater audience.