Coaching Corner: Are you tricking or treating?
By "Coach" Marilou Butcher Roth
How cool is this? My blog post on Halloween! Tonight, despite cold and possibly damp weather, hundreds of children, big and small will be arriving at doorsteps across America to collect a variety of tasty treats. These trick-or-treaters will come with the expectation that they will be met at the door with candy du jour....and, their expectations will be met without question!
How do you handle your expectations? Imagine there is an upcoming event that is important to you. Perhaps you are meeting a potential client that has the possibility of bringing you a substantial amount of business. Where does your mind go? How might you be defeating yourself mentally, much before the actual event occurs? Does your self doubt creep in, creating a scenario where you have convinced yourself that surely this client would want to choose someone else to work with? This can easily happen to each of us!
When you are anticipating an event like this or even just an upcoming conversation that is important to you, check in with yourself and see what type of self talk is rambling around in your head. Notice how you might be generating something entirely different than what you want to see happen. It's OK! Just notice! Once you have, you can begin to mentally and physically move yourself to a different place.
Try this -- mentally, imagine the scene in your head and how you want it to go, noticing how you feel when you do this. If you feel good, keep going. If it seems to generate some angst, back off and go more general in what you are imagining so that you can get yourself to a good feeling space. You can also try writing out how you would like to see this event. Handle writing in the same way -- keep going if it feels good and go more general if it doesn't.
Once you get yourself to a place that feels good to you, ask yourself what you might need to have in place to get ready for this meeting. Is there research you need to do? Anyone you might need to talk to in order to gather other information?
Lining up your thoughts first will initiate more inspired action steps for you and allow the whole process to go smoother. You are setting your expectations rather than living by default. This process can be used for anything and is great fun once you get it rolling!
So don't trick yourself by letting your mind wander -- treat yourself to an easier, more productive and fun way to handle your expectations!
Have a Bootiful Halloween!
Marilou Butcher Roth
Marilou Butcher Roth is the owner of The MBR Group, a coaching and training company working primarily with REALTORS who have a desire to work and live from a more inspired place. She is also the Broker/Owner of Group REALTORS in Cincinnati.
Marilou is a member of the Ohio REALTORS Board of Directors and past chairman of the organization’s Communications Committee.
