And that’s pretty much the conclusion I came to after writing this article: when a thought keeps you on your toes, activate your curiosity and see what it wants to tell you!
In November I attended the ICF Coach Fest in Bucharest as a certified coach, but also with my ICF volunteer hat in my pocket because I’m happy to contribute to the growth of professional coaching in Romania together with my fellow ICF Romania volunteers.
Both roles, as the Rainbow Coach and as the Director of Accreditations and Certifications, are part of my mission to bring people together.
Long story short, there were many interesting ideas discussed at the event. Many great guests who inspired me with different perspectives. However, a phrase mentioned by Elena Manea, PCC, Agile Coach, has stuck in my mind rent free:
Stop Starting and Start Finishing.
From the moment I heard it I felt it in my body! That idea kept going in my mind, like an endless echo. But then out of curiosity, I started asking myself…
- So what makes this thought so intriguing?
- How come it has stuck so tightly?
- And most importantly, which are the beliefs brought forward?
Starting to think about the way I function, the way I work, how I come up with ideas, and especially the frustration I have that I don’t have enough time to complete all the projects I have in mind. But is that really true, not having time?????
And then I realized…
That the inability to complete what we start, and the easiness of starting new things all the time, is really about the challenge many of us have to sit with the uncomfortable. With those moments when inspiration may have taken a vacation and you find yourself needing to continue a project without that boost of energy provided by the inspiration of the moment.
Actually that’s the moment of personal growth. That’s when you have the opportunity to train a new “muscle”. A new skill!
That’s the time to do one tiny little thing, just enough to move forward, even if the progress isn’t huge. But keep at it and take a step today and a step tomorrow until you finally complete what you set out to do.
Finally, the statement came with a reminder that…
ENTHUSIASM gets you started, but DETERMINATION is what gets you to the end.
Just a reminder for when inspiration and enthusiasm are no longer present. About those small and uncomfortable steps, yet they get us to the finish line
Of course there is a lot more context and thinking behind the statement, it being a core principle in Agile coaching and all, but I really don’t know anything about it.
What I can recommend is Georgiana Vintilă’s article, one of the coaches I follow on social media and among the first participants in #TribDeCoachi. You will read a different perspective on this idea because we both resonated with the topic.
In the end, when I will feel stuck again, because I surely will, I will ask myself this: What is a small and perhaps uncomfortable step I can take today that will take me closer to my dream?
How about you? What would that step be for you?