Dream High and Lower the Bar series part one

The first in a series to help you get stuff done...the scary stuff!

If you consistently get frustrated with your productivity, especially on a passion project like a book or something important but not imminent, I can help.?

Does lowering the bar mean lower standards or smaller dreams? Nope…

You know this, but I’ll restate it here. Our big dreams require lots of little steps to get there.?

I am constantly nudging my clients to lower the bar. 'Lower the bar' could be my mantra!

I'll share examples in future articles. Today let's look at lowering the bar on how much time we think we need. And how many sessions we can actually devote to a project like writing a book.

Client: I will write every day for two hours a day.

Coach Cynthia: If seven days a week is your ultimate, what’s the fewest number of days you can accept?

Client: (after much squirming) If I could do three days, that would be acceptable.

Coach Cynthia: Great! So a minimum of three days, maximum seven.

Client: Yes! I can do it.

Coach Cynthia: How will I know?

And then the client tells me what works for them to be held accountable and keep track of what they say they will do. I love getting the writing emoji four times a week from one of my beloved writing clients. ??

(I don't know anyone who ever writes seven days a week. But who am I to kibosh their goal? They will learn what works for them while doing this. We learn more my trial and error than by accepting what someone tells us to do. This way, we gather real data about what works for them.)

Lower the bar tactic: Create a sliding scale. If, by some miracle, you do write that much, it will be a cause for massive celebration. But if you meet your lower bar goal of two days for one hour each, you can still claim a victory.

Lower the bar magic: Victories feed more victories. Failures feed discouragement and our inner critic. Give your type A self the high bar and the more realistic you a low bar with a sliding scale.

Try it this week! See if a sliding scale of acceptable output helps you in any way. Circle back and let us know how it went.?