Do you experiment with change?

Over the last year, working with multiple coaching/advisory clients, I noticed how a common suggestion might not result in consistent outcomes across clients. Clients usually hope for a surefire way to obtain desired changes, but several contingencies dictate their outcomes. Giving the same advice to two clients may result in different outcomes. After all, performance varies across individuals.

 

Similarly, a common New Year’s goal commitment from multiple people may result in a wide range of outcomes. There are people who can successfully complete their desired goals while others fail and give up on those goals within days, even though all of them may have started on the goals with the same motivation and intention.

 

Worse yet, some people may repeatedly fail at the same goal they set for themselves over and over. They don’t appear to learn from that experience. Not everyone does.

 

We can all learn from experience, but it requires that we first observe the conditions in which we act, identify the factors that assisted us to make progress on our goals, and reflect on why something was supportive or not in attaining our goals.

 

How?

 

Assume the role of a scientist in your life. I recommend you experiment with changes you’ve deliberately made or had to make in response to a change in your environment.

 

When you commit to curious observation and reflection of your life, you start to notice unique patterns across different change goals and how you respond to things, including your desired goals and temptations that may distract you from your goals.

 

When you start observing your life and learning the approaches that create best outcomes for you, you’re better equipped to make sense of future problems and opportunities. You are no longer reacting by default but instead responding by design. You can feel more confident in your approach to any external change.

 

 

Does this sound similar to mindfulness? I like to call it mindful learning that enables you to not only be present in any given moment but to learn from it. You learn by observing, then reflecting on it, and elaborating on the lessons learned from every situation.

 

Furthermore, you can accelerate your learning through experimenting with different goals and options. Let’s say that you want to change the number of hours you spend at work to be no more than 40. You can experiment with different ways to attain that goal. You could observe which option lends the greatest ease in following it. You could reflect on whether that option helps you work from your strengths. Following that, you could elaborate on why a specific approach may be the easiest for you to follow based on your personal values and other competing goals.

 

Through experimentation, you don’t have to feel discouraged when your first attempt at your desired goal fails because perhaps that approach was intuitive but not well aligned with your personal values and strengths.

 

We are all faced with continuous changes in our work and personal lives. Adopting a continuous learning mindset helps prepare us to deal with any changes that may come our way.

 

 

I invite you to engage in continuous, deliberate and mindful learning. You’ll find the deepest meaning in your learning process, which will also build your capacity to thrive through future changes.

 

And no, I don’t suggest that you should mindfully be present to every second of conscious observation and reflection, that would be exhausting for anyone. But take one desired goal and experiment with different ways to attain that change. Don’t just follow the common wisdom about how to achieve that desired goal. Experiment and find your truth.

 

I have a client who continues to conduct several experiments with his desired goal of more efficient and effective time management. He fondly calls them and documents them as his “experiments with truth.” The lessons he’s shared from this process are helping guide several of his goals beyond the one he set out to experiment.

 

Are you interested in playing a scientist in your life and experimenting with changes you’ve long wanted to make?

 

I invite you to build your capability to change.

 

Become ABLE to change.

 

Always Be Learning and Experimenting (ABLE).