In today’s guest post coach Hwai Tah Lee shares some questions and thoughts in:

POTHOLES AND PIT STOPS

How to navigate this bumpy, beautiful journey called ‘Life’

By Hwai Tah Lee

“Figure out what makes you laugh, and do more of it.

Figure out what makes you cry, and do less of it.”

(Mandy Hale)

Where are you right now in your journey of life and work? How well are you doing?

How do you feel about your journey? How optimistic are you about your future?

If you clicked on the title link of this post, chances are, you could resonate with it and you’re looking in the direction of finding some help for a better, smoother journey. You may have been discouraged or derailed off your track. Or you may be simply curious to look for a little boosters. No matter, you and I are connected as kindred spirits, as travellers in this big journey called ‘Life’.

Have you watch car races like the Formula One? Our journeys in life are a bit like that. In the exhilarating run, it’s quite likely you could bump into potholes at times. Potholes and other unwanted incidents take you down or backwards. Pit stops cause you to pause, get you fixed and refuelled before you hit the road again.

In the course of your journey, it’s useful to identify and be aware of the potholes (demotivators) that would slow you down, and use the pit stops (motivators) to empower and boost you up again.

Potholes – Your ‘Demotivators’

Here are some helpful questions to help you identify the potholes (demotivators):

• What are the undesirable behaviors that are leading to unwanted outcomes?
• What bad habits have surfaced that are causing you to take harmful actions?
• What emotions are weighing you down or holding you back?
• What negative feelings are hindering you from moving forward?
• What thoughts are triggering you to be discouraged?
• What are the possible blind spots that prevent you from seeing the whole big picture?
• What is possibly distracting you to focus on what’s most important?
• What toxic thoughts are causing you to be negative?
• What perspectives are not helpful in your journey?
• What are the self-limiting beliefs that you have adopted?

“Life’s journey is peppered with many bumps and pitfalls.

If we make mountains out of each one, we will get nowhere.”

(Charles F. Glassman)

Pit Stops – Installing Your ‘Motivators’

Here are some powerful questions to identify and install your boosters (motivators):

• What is going well at the moment? How can you do more of that?
• What are the good and empowering habits you can practice daily?
• Which unhelpful emotional baggages can you start letting go? How?
• How can you improve the way you feel about yourself, your life, your work or your team?
• What empowering words can you use with yourself or your team to lift the spirit up?
• What are the triggers you can install to think of empowering and inspiring thoughts?
• What makes you come alive? How can you do more of that?
• What are the positive anchors that will help you stay on the right path?
• What are the empowering beliefs that you’re currently using? What new beliefs can you adopt?
• Who can you enlist as your supporters and cheerleaders in your journey?
• Who can you enlist as your coach, mentor or advisor?
• How can you move from good to great, and to excellence?

Not all the questions above are relevant all at once. I think you get the idea by now and could also generate the right questions for yourself.

Your destination and future are not shaped by the potholes you would encounter, they are determined by your clarity of what is important and how effectively you move towards them.

By being aware of the potholes and installing your boosters at pit stops during the right moments, you will eventually come out on top and get to where you want to go.

Remember this important key: the whole point of the journey is not where you would end up but who you could turn out to be in the process. The strength of your character is determined by the choices you make and how you respond to the lows and highs during the journey.

“Be grateful for the highs and be graceful with the lows.”

(George Pransky)

Wishing you happy, big success and a beautiful journey. Oh, and remember to smell the roses!

All my love,

HT Lee

About Hwai Tah Lee

Coach Hwai Tah is a certified coach with the International Coach Federation (ICF). He stands in the gap of where organizations and individuals are and their extraordinary future and dreams. He engages leaders in thought-provoking process to accomplish big professional and personal goals.

Operating from his base in Malaysia and the surrounding region, Hwai Tah’s specialized areas of coaching includes performance, leadership, executive and life coaching.

Hwai Tah also writes regularly in his coaching website, Coaching Journey – Transporting You Toward Your Best Self. Check out some of his best works there.