Looking Back and Looking Ahead is the Critical “pre-work” to Winning in the Second Half!

 

In my last blog, I introduced a foundational aspect of Winning in the Second Half. What comes next is taking full advantage of the Half Time, that time between survival, success, to now looking toward significance in our lives and careers. This got me thinking out loud about the value of taking stock to know what you will bring (and jettison) into the Second Half with you!

In my last blog, I introduced the concept of living into a one word magnetic north that can make the difference between a life of continued fulfillment and relevance to one of slow disappearance. John Maxwell in his book, Intentional Living speaks to this strategy. John calls it The POWER of that ONE THING. Inevitably that One Thing moves your focus to others. It provides renewed confidence that is appealing to you and attractive to others because you care more about that One Thing than what you previously thought was important.

Accordingly, the more you live it, the more it layers in that that one thing becomes cumulative and generative. Previous undiscovered strengths, ambitions, and capabilities start to manifest and build because you get to CORE. Those dimensions of your life that are most important to you. What you do best. This then frees us to jettison all those things that no longer serve you.

The more you layer your “why” or that one thing, the more impact it has because it is simply more significant! Nothing builds credibility more, nothing is more inspiring, nothing is more attractive than a man or woman on a mission! Working toward your one thing also keeps you in the game longer. As the title of the book by Ken Blanchard teaches us, you are not retiring, you are refiring! This is incredibly empowering to our Second Half!

The caution is when we reach a certain age and stage in our careers and lives, we have all kinds of options and possibilities, conflicting priorities, and shiny objects that can distract us. The key task is not trying to figure out what role or life mission you fit in to; it's about figuring that role which is already INSIDE you! At the end of the day, we want to end up in careers based on who we ARE, versus what you can DO. Trust me, you have done and can do lots of things! The decision we now need to make in the Second Half is what am I doing NOW that I want to KEEP doing? What do I not want to do? What can I do now that I never could before? What should I do now that I never allowed time for?

 

To answer these questions and create a cogent game plan for the Second Half we need to slow down for a minute and put ourselves in a Half Time scenario. In football, the half time segment gives the team the margin to slow down for a minute, recover mentally and physically, and adjust or create a new game plan for the second half.

 

Author and speaker, Jeff Henderson, refers that we will reach a certain time in our lives where we are in a Waiting Room. Once there, we can passively wait and just hope our Second Half plan falls in our lap. There is reckless waiting where we run back to what is safe and comfortable and just cling to the first idea that makes us feel better. Then there is active waiting where we are spending time with these strategies, investing in prototype conversations, gathering information, and not making any new commitments yet. This active waiting is where we do the pre-work to develop a compelling Second Half plan.

 

Here is a key take-a-way from this blog. The secret to life and career design (or redesign) especially in building your Second Half is what authors Bill Burnett and Dave Evans call “reframing.” The process of reframing is challenging dysfunctional beliefs that no longer serve us and replace them with those that do!
 

Here are three dysfunctional beliefs related to the Second Half:

 

·         Don't Look BACK – The past does not matter

·         Don't Reflect – I have nothing that anyone wants now

·         Don't Look Ahead – I have to just focus on the here and now

We need to reframe those dysfunctional beliefs and in fact use these questions from John Maxwell’s book on Intentional Living:

Look BACKWARD –

·         What have I been GIVEN?

·         What INSIGHTS does my Experience Provide?

Look INWARD –

·         What do I have to GIVE?

·         Inventory your Talents, Strengths, Knowledge, and Gifts

Look OUTWARD –

·         What can I DO?

·         What can I now DO that I could not before?

·         What do I know NOW that I did not before?

·         What have I BECOME that I was not before?

Once we are committed to a Second Half exploration, that involves looking back and looking ahead, we need to be comfortable with the fact that we are going to make choices. In other words, our focus will be on Opportunity Management versus time management. Just like a coach will have to make some tough calls to recalibrate for the Second Half, we too will need to be willing to make some difficult choices such as what people and things will move to the PERIMETER of our lives and not take on as much of a PRIORITY. This requires us to inventory those tasks, commitments, etc. that take the majority of your time. Based upon that inventory what will you jettison? What will you keep? What will you seek anew? These choices may be hard to face, but what are the things that no longer serve us?

Again, I have referenced the power of taking stock and conducting key inventories during the course of this blog post. Use some time in the half time locker room to actively wait and answer the questions above. You will use these to help inform your Second Half game plan.

As always if I can help you with this half time work of looking back and looking ahead, please let me know. If I can assist you and the people you associate with Get Better, Be Ready and LEAD OUT LOUD, I invite you to contact me.

Yours in leadership,

Bill Faulkner

Independent Coach, Speaker, and Trainer with Maxwell Leadership^TM

Certified DISC Profile System Consultant and Gallup Strengths Coach

Certified Designing Your Life Coach

 

Email = bill@outloudinc.com

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NOTE: No AI Agents were harmed in the creation of this blog. This content reflects the actual research, thoughts, and considerations of the intended audience of the author – who just so happens to be a human being!