Welcome back to OR welcome if you’re a first-timer to the Monday Motivation podcast! This IS Sandi Ballard, founder of Growing Forward Success Coaching and master of detecting excuses! If ping pong was a game of slapping back excuses at clients, I WOULD win the Olympics! HA! How are things going? Really? Over the last few weeks, I have challenged you to step out of your comfort zone and try something NEW. Do something differently. Get off your ass and climb out of your rut and DO. SOMETHING.

Yes, I’m wearing my pointy shoes right now and my whip is within arms reach! I’m clearly in a MOOD and it stems from fielding excuses all year. Having clients fall out of routine and make excuses to get back-on-track. What’s the challenge? I get frustrated when, and my Mentor has told me many times, “You can’t want it more than them”, but when clients back off or continue to throw excuses at me instead of seeing what I see in them. Seeing how amazing it is and what MORE they can have.

So last week I asked you to step out of your comfort zone and I had this voice in my head (I know I have lots of them) but this one I could hear a client say, I don’t want to do this by myself. Sigh**** I will only do this if someone comes with me. Ok, I get it, doing things alone can sometimes be scary, then I also appreciate the saying “Misery Loves Company”. Remember when you were a kid – and you got in trouble and your parents asked you why you did something? And your response was “because Jimmy did it”? haha…….. and what did your parents ask you?  Yes…So if Jimmy jumped off a bridge would you jump too? Hahaha. Yeah. Well guess what – there are many of you adults out there that are still pulling that “I’ll do it if you do it” card.

I’m not saying it’s wrong all the time, but there clearly are times when that’s just another bullshit excuse! I agree sometimes going with a friend or colleague to an event is more fun than going it alone, but make sure you understand the WHY behind NOT doing it alone. Is this person in your “comfort zone”? What happens when you have to take that BIG GIANT F-ING STEP OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE and NO ONE CAN BE YOUR SIDEKICK? NO ONE can go to that networking event with you? No one can workout with you? No one can come over and play? What will you do? Reel back into your comfort zone and not go? You KNOW this can potentially help your business, career, life in general…but you just can’t go it alone?

Listen in for more on this topic. Comment here or email me SBallard@GrowingForward.biz with what you are willing to finally do alone for your own personal and/or professional growth!

Hidy Ho fellow listeners! I appreciate you logging on here and listening to your weekly Monday Motivation or more of a challenge as it’s becoming!  

Let me ask you – do you complain but refuse to make changes? Whether it’s your thoughts, how you do something, WHEN you do something or perhaps personal behavior? Has the WHY behind that changed?  Perhaps the WHY isn’t the problem it’s the HOW. Perhaps you don’t understand or believe IN the WHY behind what you are doing, or the need for change.

CHANGE IS INEVITABLE. So why do so many resist? Why do people HATE CHANGE so much?

The last few weeks I’ve talked about getting uncomfortable. Stepping OUT OF your comfort zone – doing something new. Going it alone. Trying something for the 1st time or in a new, or different way. I know, I know I KNOW it can be hard, scary, uncertainty sets in – you don’t know or OH HOLY LORD CONTROL THE OUTCOME, so you put the guards up and GUESS WHAT? You don’t do it. Worse yet, you do nothing. Podcast #13 – what is the definition of insanity??  You don’t want to change anything yet you still EXPECT DIFFERENT RESULTS!

Well welcome to life people! I learned years ago to take my hands off the wheel and enjoy the ride! Yes, I still want things MY way, but when something doesn’t happen the way I WANTED OR EXPECTED it to happen, do I just give up, throw a fit (as I’ve seen people do)? HELL NO! I look at what’s going on. THE WHY behind it. I may not like having to change something, but I realize I can’t argue with the giant joystick in the sky!! I have to sit down and really look at everything – every aspect of what I am doing, how I am doing it, and WHY!

THEN, I take a deep breath – perhaps have a glass of wine and pull up my bootstraps and make adjustments! Sometimes that even means walking away from an idea, a client, a goal – hmmmmm, usually not a goal. More like delaying a goal or shelving it until the timing is better, funding is better, I know more or align with someone who shares the same vision.

Listen in this week as I discuss more about how to not change a goal, change the plan or the process!! And, as this week’s quote says, DON’T EXPECT TO SEE A CHANGE IF YOU DON’T MAKE ONE.

AND the comment here, or email me at SBallard@GrowingForward.biz and tell me what you are willing to change!

Hello again listeners! All 6 of ya! HA! It’s that day of the week again, the one you have all chosen to change your attitude about and use it as a launching pad for an awesome week, right? NO? Did I hear you say NO? Well, then you should rewind your attitude a bit and focus on what WILL go well today and how you can kick this week in the ass?! Starting RIGHT NOW!

Oh, and if you are listening on a different day, then reflect on how Monday went, how the week has gone so far or “went” if you’re listening on the weekend and reset your mind on the NEXT week Ok?

So how are things going? Have you stepped out of your comfort zone even MORE? Have you made any changes in your habits, your life, your processes? Even little ones? And it’s not because you HAVE to, it should be because you want to. You WANT MORE and especially if things are going as you wanted them to…you sort of NEED TO make changes so you can get different results. And stepping out of your comfort zone usually is a way to make changes. Whether it’s personally or professionally, changes do come along whether you accept the changes or not. Taking time to understand your WHY – the why behind the change vs just changing is key as well.

And oh, now I hear you say “Sandi I know. I know. I know what I need to do, BUT…..

STOP RIGHT FRIGGN THERE! But what? What’s stopping you? What’s keeping you from “doing whatever it is that you KNOW YOU NEED TO DO?

I was recently at Starbucks sitting outside working and heard two women talking. And one said that exact thing to the other. I know. I know. I know what I need to do but.

Listen in to hear more about how to STOP saying you know what you need to do, and START doing it! And then comment here, or email me at SBAllard@GrowingForward.biz and tell me what you WILL STOP doing and why!