While grounded due to the pandemic, have you been keeping your plans, goals, and dreams grounded too?

I have.

For a while now, I have been wanting to create a weekly newsletter to share some valuable bite-size tips to help people live fully-charged lives. I have been dragging my feet for a few reasons that may sound familiar to you.

• Being too “busy” or distracted with other stuff.
• Focusing on perfection and deciding not to start until I know it is flawless.
• Fear of building the plane while it’s taking off. I have the tendency to keep working on an idea until it is completely fleshed out rather than allowing myself to figure it out as it goes along.
• A phenomenon I’ve been calling the COVID fog – an invisible layer of funk that seems to have settled since quarantine. Can’t launch a new idea with foggy conditions, right?
• Self-doubt – telling myself that my tips were too basic or that people wouldn’t be interested. What if no passengers show up as my new ideas take flight?

The hard truth is these are all excuses or stories I have told myself. Luckily, I have a few strategies I teach others to get themselves out of the gate and onto the runway.

5 Tips for Getting Off the Ground

1. Remind yourself of your mission/purpose – When you anchor to what matters to you, it is easy to focus on your highest priority tasks and activities. Recently, I have been “busy” in my email inbox reacting to messages coming through vs. working on my priorities.
2. Recognize progress over perfection and sometimes good is good enough – There are first drafts and pilot versions for a reason. I can change my format, process, and content at any time.
3. Figure out the first step – I do this with exercise. When I put my workout clothes out at night, I’m more likely to workout in the morning. That’s my first step. When you break things down into manageable steps, it makes your task, project, or dream seem more achievable. As a bonus, the first step builds momentum which can become a tailwind.
4. Get help from a friend, an accountability partner, or coach – It’s always more fun to travel with someone. Find someone who can help you get unstuck, push you toward your goals, and will ask about your progress. (Thanks Sylvia!)
5. Play to your strengths – Soar with your natural strengths to help you focus your time and energy.

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With this newsletter project, it was time for me to practice what I preach. I share this because we are all works in progress and face headwinds at times.

I’d like these weekly newsletters to help you on your journey. No need to pack your bags, I’ll pack for you with:

• Tips, stories, and resources to enhance your leadership skills and your flight crew’s engagement,
• Strategies to get you into the pilot seat in your own life, and
• Methods for uncovering and exploring unconscious biases which may interfere with your flight path to inclusive and mindful leadership.

Join my newsletter email list for all of this and more.

Many of us have been grounded too long. It’s time to fly!