Contemplating a Change? Know Your C.O.I.™
When you think about making a change in your personal or professional life, what kind of feelings come up for you?
Do you feel anxious because you aren’t sure if you should make this change? And if you do, then what?
Do you feel nervous and overwhelmed because you know you need to change things, but you’re just not sure which direction to take?
Are you excited about the possibilities this change could bring and yet stay stuck; unable to make a decision?
In my coaching practice I see this over and over – the stagnation of growth due to fear of taking action.
I see it in individuals I coach – and these are very successful people.
I see it in organizations I work with when they are faced with a definite need for change but are hesitant to make the investment of time and resources necessary.
I’ve seen it in my friends and family and I’ve experienced it myself.
What people tend to focus on is their perceived cost of making the change. The solution may involve hiring a coach or bringing in a professional facilitator to work with a team so they can communicate more effectively and become more productive. In your personal life, it may mean hiring a personal trainer if you really want to make a change to your health or hiring a coach to help you with your mindset.
Most people focus on what it will cost them to take action, when they really need to asking themselves something different altogether.
What’s your C.O.I.™ – Cost Of Inaction?
You see, there is a cost to doing nothing.
There is a monetary cost to your income level or the organization’s bottom line.
There is an emotional cost to individuals and teams due to the lack of availability of tools to use to correct the issues at hand. This leads to continued overwhelm, frustration and starts to erode the company’s culture which creates apathy.
There is a spiritual cost to this as well. Feeling as if you’ve failed because you know you were meant to be doing so much more with your career and life, takes a huge toll on your soul.
People don’t take action until the pain of staying where they are is greater than the pain of making the change.
How do you decide to take action?
We need to remove fear from our decision-making process. It’s never a good source for making authentic choices.
My dad taught me this decision-making method when I was a young woman and I’ve used it ever since:
- On a sheet of paper, draw a vertical line down the center. On the left side write “C.O.I.™” ” and on the right side put “Cost of Change”
- List the monetary, emotional and spiritual costs you perceive for each.
- Review each side of the page, noticing where fear shows up and ask yourself if that reason has any real truth to it. (Hint: if it’s fear-based, the answer will be no).
- Look at your remaining list to see what’s left. You’ll find the right answer for what ails you or your company.
It’s empowering to discover that taking action to make the necessary changes in your personal and professional life can be uplifting and dare I say, fun.
When you embrace this way of looking at change, your awareness of real costs will save you in immeasurable ways.
P.S. I invite you to try this method on a change you’re struggling with right now. Make your list and remove all the fear-based items, then email me or share your findings on our Facebook community. It’s OK to ask for help. That’s why I’m here. Ask away!