In creating your business’s Winning Game Plan, you first work on the plays (think “strategies”) that are working.
You focus on those first so you can be intentional about doing them and keeping those plays working correctly. Many times, we focus first on what’s not working and forget what does work; consequently, we stop or do less of the plays that actually work. This pattern drives our results downward creating a less than successful outcome.
But, what about the plays where we need help, the ones we don’t do well or don’t do at all? We have to pay attention to them too so we can improve our overall game.
Here’s how you work on those plays that need your attention:
First identify the plays (things) that need tweaking. Here’s an example of a good golfer who wanted to play in the PGA. He realized there were shots that needed tweaking. He identified the plays that worked as:
- Shots inside 3 feet – desired outcome was to make 90% of those shots.
- Reading the greens – desired outcome was to be 100% confident in ability to read the line (the trajectory the ball will take after being hit).
- Pre-shot routine – desired outcome was to be able to keep emotions consistent.
The plays for our example that needed tweaking were identified as:
- Long shots
- Sand shots
- Downhill putts
The question to ask as we look at these “need tweaking” plays is “what am I thinking as I take the shot?”
Remember that our thoughts lead to our actions and our actions lead to our results. If these were plays that didn’t work in your golf game you might answer, “I think I stink at sand shots. I’ve never been any good at sand shots!” With that as your thinking, imagine what your actions and thereby your results might be… I’d say not too good, wouldn’t you?
The tweaking starts in the thinking, not in the actions!
By asking the question “what I am thinking about the play”, you begin the improvement process.
Once the answer is discovered you can congratulate yourself in taking the first of three steps to correct it or any self-defeating thought. Here are the three steps:
- Recognize your thinking
- Refocus your thinking
- Create a new routine (habit) to correct it.
Your thought changes from “I stink at sand shots…” to “Hit the sand 2 inches behind the ball and the momentum will carry the ball onto the green.” Then every time your ball lands in the sand trap, you can begin to focus on your form and your self-talk reinforces what works.
That inner voice is called the “Monkey on Your Back” and to reduce its affect on you, when you have self-defeating thoughts in your business, is to literally say, “Get off my back!” That can be a trigger or anchor to let you know you need to change your thinking. We’ll talk more about Triggers and Anchors in a future article.
