October's Massive Action Challenge
October marks the start of the last quarter of the year. A new season is upon us with cooler weather, the anticipation of some fun holidays, Halloween being my personal favorite.
What are you going to dress up as?
I’d love to hear from you on that. Seriously, this is important stuff. I’m planning my costume this week.
Fall gives each of us another chance to focus in again on what we want to accomplish before 2022 arrives. I want to talk to you about your Massive Action plan for the rest of the year in two areas that can have the biggest positive impacts on your life.
As a quick refresher, Massive Action is a favorite concept of mine and a lot of other folks love it, too. It means that I keep trying and doing things until I get the results I want. It means I am not allowed to quit and feel sorry for myself. It removes the question “Why isn’t this working?” that so many of us grapple with.
See if this sounds familiar “Well I don’t know. I tried four things. Should I think I’m done yet? Should I think I was a failure ?” “I don’t know what’s the best thing to do and what if this one doesn’t work then I’ll feel bad about myself…” and then people just don’t do anything.
Massive action removes all of that back and forth chatter because it doesn’t matter what we do first.
Here are two prime areas for you to deploy your own Massive Action around. The first is career.
Career
Everything I do in my coaching business is related to the career goals of the clients I partner with in some way. I do three main things.
Career Search Coaching for people seeking a more fulfilling job
Partnering with established Entrepreneurs to grow their business to the next level
Coaching executive women in Corporations who want a skilled set of outside eyes as they move forward pursuing their career aspirations and need a partner with savvy business skills and solid political sensibilities.
In the career arena, Massive Action is a beautiful tactic to employ. It’s the relentless focus on getting the business goals you want.
If there’s 20 things you could do to make that next career step a reality, take one. If that doesn’t work, do the next one. Just keep going.
Massive Action removes all of that evaluation and negotiation with yourself. How do I know when I’m done? If I have the thing I want. If I don’t have it yet, I’m not done, so what am I going to do next?
I’m getting to that goal, so I’m going to keep trying different things until something works.
Try everything. So, if Plan A doesn’t work, go to plan B. There are a lot more letters in the alphabet and we haven’t even gotten to the numbers we can use yet. Keep doing things until you achieve the success you want. The way you make your living is a huge component of the way you make your life. You don’t want to give it anything but your best.
I want to share a story with you about Virginia Oliver. Virginia is the oldest lobster fisher in Maine and possibly in the world. She started lobstering with her Dad when she was 8. Her Dad established his lobster business around the turn of the 20th century. Virginia is now 101. She still tends her traps with her 78-year-old son, Max.
When her doctor asked her why she kept working, she said “Because I want to.” She still gets excited about her own lobster dinner she prepares each week. Hear what she said. “I want to. Lobster dinners still excite me.” We should all be lucky enough to have a job we love that much.
The second item is Relationships
People mean the most and yet we don’t always take massive action around those we love or ourselves.
For some reason when I say relationships I always think of the Jimmy Buffett line in his song “Fruitcakes” when he shares this nugget of wisdom.
Now here comes the big ones, relationships, we all got 'em. We all want 'em, what do we do with 'em?
What indeed? While he’s known for his beach vibe and laid back “Margaritaville” attitude, Jimmy Buffett shares a lot of wisdom in many of his songs if we listen closely and I’m a big fan.
Relationships are undoubtedly the richest and most challenging things in our life. I love the saying
“If it isn’t going to matter in five years, don’t give it more than five minutes of your attention.”
So true about almost everything we encounter that upsets us. So not true all the time about relationships. A lot of what we do in our relationships can have impact that far exceeds the time period of five years.
So, taking Massive Action becomes so meaningful and critical in our close family and friend relationships. Here are some examples of how we can improve them through Massive Action.
Reach out even if you were the one who did last time. No need to keep score.
Give little gifts for no reason. That unexpected gift we receive is usually our favorite.
Show kindness when a friend is having a hard day.
A great ecard or card in the mail. Have you noticed that a written card or personal note in the mail is so special now?
Doing more than your share when a loved one is having a hard time.
Crank up the compliments. People almost seem to expand visually under a sincere compliment. Say ‘em! Find reasons to acknowledge those you love often.
Saving the best for last. Listen. If you only do this, life for those you love will improve. People crave being heard. To have someone really deeply listen to them. Don’t you? You can make loved ones and friends feel accepted and understood.
Now I’m going to flip the Massive Action about Relationships on its head with you.
Your primary relationship is with yourself.
It’s so important that while loving family and friends, you love you.
Here’s a key way to do that. Boundaries. I just listed some excellent ways to love others. Those are all great within healthy relationships. The way to get those healthy relationships is to have firm boundaries. Boundaries are definitely worthy of Massive Action.
Here’s how to tell if you have solid boundaries. Check these out:
1. Get off the phone easily when you want to
2. Are able to say NO when you need to
3. Ask freely for what you want
4. Can control a situation, a conversation or interaction when it’s necessary
5. Turn someone down without guilt in any situation
6. Assert yourself when you are unhappy with a relationship dynamic
7. You can and do stick up for yourself
8. Don’t try to save anyone else to your own detriment
And here are examples of weak boundaries:
1. Imbalanced or dysfunctional relationships
2. Lack of Power in your life
3. Build-up of resentments
4. Avoiding confrontation
5. Going to great lengths to avoid people or situations so you won’t have to say no
6. Money issues
7. Skewed friendships that aren’t real but a giver/taker relationship
8. Victimization
You can use this Massive Action magic on anything. If you never run out of actions you can take, your world will expand in a surprisingly positive direction.
My challenge to you is the question
“What do you want to do to consciously use massive action on to elevate your life before this year is over?
I can help. Reach out to me at brenda@brendaholley.com for a free 30-minute conversation.
