Ron Tustin – Questions to Ourselves

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“Anyone who knows all the answers most likely misunderstood the questions”

I can remember learning at school a technique of writing an essay using the 5W's + H. Asking "WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHY, WHEN and HOW" was a formula we used to map out all of the details to write a story. But this can also be effective to begin to understand the whole truth about ourselves. By asking each of these questions, we can create a clear vision for where we wish to be and what we wish to do. Let me explain.

WHO?

At some point, I think we all ask ourselves “Who am I?" How do we define our identity? What are the true elements that make a person genuinely unique? These are some of the questions we could ask ourselves to help define that identity:

• What values do we hold highest?
• What legacy do we wish to leave? 
• How do we want others to view us?
• What do we feel is our life purpose?

WHAT?

By having a solid understanding of what we want, we can set goals or directions so as to begin to create the ideal life. Someone who was coaching me (yes coaches have their own coaches!) shared with me one of the most profound questions that can be used to uncover any goal or personal direction we may have. That is, what is your ultimate goal?

This question allows us to dig deep and get to the root of what is going to make us successful. We can act to achieve this by assessing our daily, weekly and monthly tasks that will lead to this goal. If we start to feel lost, we can ask whether what we are doing fits in with our ultimate goal.

WHERE?

Have you ever sat and day-dreamed about where you'd like to be 5, 10 15 or 20 years from now. What sort of life are you living? Who is with you? What does your living environment look like? 

And of course, one thing that is very important to establishing some direction in our lives is to know when we have reached our destination.

WHY?

Why is it so important to achieve our goals? If we can't immediately name a few reasons, our goals may not be powerful enough. Why are these goals important to us? What will we gain by achieving our goals? What will we gain by not achieving them? How will life be better by achieving our goals?

How will we feel knowing what we've accomplished?

WHEN?

A popular tool that many coaches and other professionals use for goal setting is:

S pecific

M easureable

A ttainable

R ealistic

T ime Framed 

This makes the process of setting goals much easier. The time-framed portion of SMART is particularly important here.  By setting a time limit on when we would like to achieve something it creates a sense of urgency and also allows us to measure our progress.

HOW?

In many ways this is the most important question. I am established as a unique individual, have an understanding of what my ultimate goal is, know what I want my life to look like and where I’d like to be, I’m clear why my goals are important to me and I’ve given myself a time frame to complete it. So now what? We need to create an action plan to make it happen. It is important to break this down into small actions every week. Talk to others about it and involve someone we trust to help us. 

The key to wisdom is knowing all the right questions.”

Ron Tustin
Revive and Thrive Coaching, Professional Coach, member of International Coach Federation.

Read Ron's Blog 
www.reviveandthrivecoaching.com 
info@rtc.org.nz 
Ph 0800 003679

Motivating baby boomers to see the world with fresh eyes.