#3: That Old Chestnut

Imagine being surrounded a room full of successful CEOs and business owners and being asked “What’s your 20-year vision for your company?”

As I sat there mulling over the answer, I heard a familiar voice go “Oh! That old chestnut again. Are you sure you are ready for this?”. Meet Frank, my inner critic.

Frank reminds me of one of two grumpy men in the seats above the stage on The Muppets. Grumpy, frumpy and will never be pleased. I knew exactly what Frank meant as he whispered those words.

He was referring to a time three years ago when I went into a full-stage panic, overwhelm and a proper freakout. I could barely see the step ahead of me as I embarked on the decision to go full-time in my business as a leadership coach. Asking me to envision what 2039 could look like was truly difficult. Frank had a proper role in that too – reminding me of the times I failed and how I felt then, playing the familiar flashback reels of criticisms and unwarranted opinions that I had received throughout my life. That was one of Frank’s good days; I was caught off-guard. Suddenly, what I was embarking on felt like a huge insurmountable mountain. I couldn’t breathe. I had to leave the zoom call.

Happens. Happens to the best of us. We get caught off guard by how badly we want things to happen and what is at stake combined with worst-case scenarios.

Frank’s ability to dominate my thoughts, intercept my state of being and distort my perceptions were most prolific in 2019. As a result, I designed specific steps to shut him up and take control back.

Here are my steps:

1.????See Frank; Punch Frank

2.????Power Pose; Speak Calmly

3.????Write Down Fears

4.????Tackle the Work at Hand

Step1: See Frank; Punch Frank

As soon as I heard his voice, I did what I always do best – mentally punched him in the throat. As I do that, it takes the wind out of him. Trying to argue or rationalise with him is an exercise in futility. That punch to the throat is one of my most effective ways to silence the inner critic (my clients love doing this to theirs!). Highly recommended.

Step 2: Power Pose; Speak Calmly

My power pose is through my deadly big eyes. As the session was running, I stared down at Frank and calmly said, “I’m in charge. Not you. Now, piss off.”

If I tried to deny or ignore that voice, it would have just gotten louder and more disruptive. Frank knows the drill when as I complete steps 1 and 2. He leaves the scene.

Step 3: Write Down Fears

Even with Frank running off, there were some fears still swirling in my head. I found time later that day to write them down. Initially, I thought there would be a long list. I had just four statements.

• Am I good enough?
• Can I deliver?
• Who am I? (imposter syndrome)
• What if I can’t and there are disastrous consequences to the employees of the company?

This took all of one minute. The moment you write them out, they lose their power.

Step 4: Tackle the Work at Hand

My 20-year vision.

I wrote down 2042 and listed, in bullet points, all the things that we would have accomplished as an organisation. I started off with three and the rest were free flow. It was both liberating and amazing to see some of my older visions come back into play and newer pieces of puzzle enter the frame. I was in a state of awe.

This step took 20minutes.

The stretch:

I then asked myself, “What if I could accomplish this within 10 years? Who do I need to be as a leader to materialise this?”. That brought up more excitement and has since triggered tweaks to my strategy for the year.

Another 2 minutes.

If you did experience a challenge in coming up with a 20-year vision, I hope that by now, you are feeling more exuberant by the prospect of it all.

What’s your 20-year vision?

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Whenever your dreams bring up your fears, decide right then which one is going to dominate. ~ Jenny Vaz

Jenny helps aspiring leaders to realise their potential and create outstanding results in their careers & business.

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