Actions taken, lessons learned

I'm part of an Academy of coaches and as part of my membership, I participate in live group coaching calls with other coaches bi-weekly. Our mentor/coach always starts the coaching calls by requesting us to share "actions taken, lessons learned" from the previous two weeks.

Through this process, I've come to realize that most of my learning comes through taking action. More specifically, my learning comes from WHO I BECOME in the process of taking action.

On our call last week, we focused specifically on actions taken and lessons learned in 2016. Being there is only a little over a week left in 2016, I wanted to take some time to reflect on this topic and share some of my learnings with you.

I have summarized the highlights of my learning from 2016 below:

1. I ALWAYS HAVE A CHOICE. The choice might be taking an action, trying on a new perspective, changing my attitude, or simply doing nothing at all, but I ALWAYS have a choice. There are usually trade-offs and sacrifices that come with each choice, but I ALWAYS have one.

2. IT IS OK (AND NEVER TOO LATE) TO CHANGE MY MIND AND CREATE SOMETHING DIFFERENT FOR MYSELF. I made a decision this year to transition my career from accounting to coaching. Through taking this action, I learned that it's never too late to change my mind and create something different for myself. Just because I have always done something one way, doesn't mean I have to continue doing it that way. Especially, if it’s not working for me anymore.

Not only is it never too late to change my mind, I also learned that it's perfectly ok to do so. I am a curious person. I like learning new things, meeting new people, and GROWING. I LOVE growing and expanding myself. I learned this year that personal growth is a strong value of mine. Instead of trying to fit into a mold that doesn’t fit, I now seek to find ways to honor this value more in my life.

3. EVERYTHING IS FIGUREOUTABLE. This has become a mantra for me. I have learned this year that everything really is figure-out-able and that I am creative, resourceful, and whole. Thanks to this mindset combined with various other things like google, other people, knowledge and wisdom I have gained from previous experiences, support groups, customer support, books, etc., I have come to learn that EVERYTHING REALLY IS FIGURE-OUT-ABLE!

4. NOT KNOWING AND FEELING LOST AND CONFUSED IS OK. There were many times this year that I felt lost, confused, and didn't know. In fact, so many times that I finally accepted, and became ok with, these feelings. Through accepting and becoming ok with these feelings, a new energy emerged. I came to realize that not only was I strong and resilient, but I could figure things out! Today, I actually enjoy not knowing because it means there is more for me to learn. I enjoy feeling lost and confused because it means there are still more areas to grow and expand myself. Such a relief!

5. I AM WAY BIGGER AND MORE POWERFUL THAN I REALIZE. This has been a HUGE learning for me this year. Certain actions combined with circumstances that were beyond my control, allowed me to tap into a space that felt new and foreign to me. I learned that I am way bigger and more powerful than I ever imagined. This has been, and still is, quite terrifying for me to realize. It is definitely the scariest learning I’ve had this year, by far!

This learning is best described by a quote from Marianne Williamson, "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

These are just a few of my learnings from this year. There are so many more.

How about you? What are your "actions taken, lessons learned" for 2016?

I challenge you to take some time over the next week to think about the actions you took in 2016 and what you learned from those actions. Below are some questions to consider as you reflect on the year:

• Who did you become as a result of the actions you took?
• What did you learn about yourself?
• Who were you BEING when you were at your BEST?
• What were you DOING when you were at your BEST?
• Who were you BEING when you were at your WORST?
• What were you DOING when you were at your WORST?
• What will you continue doing in 2017?
• What will you do differently?
• What qualities do you want to connect with as you move forward?

And most importantly, HOW CAN YOU CELEBRATE YOUR LEARNINGS FROM 2016?

In Ultimate Support of You!

Katharine