Measure The Right Things To Feel Progress

When we feel unauthentic or restless or that we're in a rut, it's usually because we're not really feeling like we're authentic. So how do we know we're being authentic? We are subconsciously or consciously measuring the meaningful things in our lives. Start your week. Great. Start your week with a coach. I'm your host, certified High Performance coach Sean Butner. And we're going to talk about something that will help you advance in your life. This. So let's go. If you have a business, maybe you are measuring the amount of revenue coming in, but you forgot to measure quality of life. So you never see your family, you never see your friends, you don't really work on your health, so you're gaining weight, you're feeling cruddy, all because your one measure of success was work and not anything else. Or in another instance, maybe all you do is measure how people think about you, right? So in your relationships, how are they? How are people showing up? And, you know, and how do you. How are they? How do they do you? That's what I'm looking for. And so, you know, cut corners at work. So you're not really doing the best work or you aren't. People can sense that you're not authentically showing you're up for yourself. And so, you know, the relationship feels weird, and then it makes you feel weird because you're picking up on that and it's a weird feedback loop. So there's so many things, and in those instances, you're measuring what other people think about you, not how much you are authentically sharing your ideas, your beliefs, the things that are important to you. And it can be scary, too. So, you know, one, we are not feeling authentic, and we're not measuring up to those very specific or unconscious measures of success in our lives. You know, we can feel really miserable. We can feel like we're imposters. But when we have those measures correct, when we know what's most important to us, when we know what's really propelling us into the future, we really understand, you know, what's going to make us happy and we can feel progress again, right? It's one thing to be working on a bunch of stuff and feel like you're never advancing your values, you're not advancing your goals, your projects, the big things that you want. But measuring properly is what we need to do. So how can you do it? I got five questions for you guys this week to conclude this Meaningful Revolution series. Because there is meaning in the things we measure. Okay, so starting off, first question is, you know, ask yourself what's really most important to me right now? Like, if I had to pick all the things that I'm doing, all the things that I'm dreaming of, all the things that I want for my life, you know, what are the things that are the most important? You know, it could be that I have a job that pays the bills, but what's most important is that I'm providing for my family. So everyone needs to eat, everyone needs the roof over their head. So that's important. And to realize that, that's important, important too, right? So when if you didn't realize that that was what was going on or you'd forgotten about it, you might have lost some of the meaning of why you are in that job that you don't particularly love. So what's important to you right now and what's most important to you? I also like this question because it's getting clear on what's making you happy and what things will make you happy in your life. Because so many times, too, we can't measure what we don't know. So. So there's an aspect of clarity behind this question that I find really powerful when I work with people in my coaching practice. Second question for you to ask. When we are trying to create these meaningful measures, it's what are the intrinsic indicators? I'm making progress. These are the things that you think you feel more internal than external. So I might be trying to advance in my career. And, you know, what I really want to feel is respected. I really want to feel is the sense that I'm getting better at my profession, right? So the first year that I was a software engineer and programming and doing code, that code's crap compared to 10 years into the future, Right? So you want to be able to feel like I'm progressing in my craft, I'm progressing in my profession, and that's such an important feeling of also being respected by peers for being experienced. So what are some other types of intrinsic things? It could be I'm doing something I love, and I feel very grateful to do that. Every day that I coach and have a session or sessions with my clients, it's the best day ever. It jazzes me up. I get. I feel more energized afterwards. I absolutely love this work. I love doing this work, and I feel very grateful for it. But. So I would do this every day for the rest of my life and not get paid. So that's maybe another question on this one. But I absolutely love this work. So what is that for you? Question three, you know, what are the extrinsic indicators for you making progress? Right? So are you getting the financial rewards? Are you getting, you know, the recognition and appreciation from your peers and your team? Are you actually like seeing things get built? Right? So if you make furniture, do you see it? You know, are you seeing more and more tables pile up in the warehouse that you've created? You know, so what are some of those types of measures? Because sometimes seeing our progress physically could be, again, very meaningful. Very, very. Or being recognized financially could be really, really meaningful and important to us. So fourth question is, you know, what else is important to me as I make progress towards this, right? So going back to the business idea, if you know, you're running a business and all you're focused on is revenue and you forget lifestyle, you're going to work all the time and be miserable potentially, right? So, you know, another case could be like, when I was in software, people would measure the amount of bugs that you would find in software, but not the quality. So you have these teams of people trying to find these really easy, quick to fix things. Because if you got stuck on a really big, deep, you know, huge problem, you weren't really rewarded when you had your review on the number of bugs you fixed might have been worse, but you fixed a bigger, more, deeper problem that, that really needed to be fixed. So that's kind of measuring the wrong thing in that particular way. So what else is important it's getting in that particular case, it's how are you addressing those deeper, more complex things over just the number of bugs that you are finding in that particular process? Hope that makes sense. Anyway, okay, so what else is important as you make progress? So it could be, you know, with business, it's lifestyle, with, you know, quality assurance, it's, you know, fixing the big, really problematic bugs that require a lot of attention versus number. The fifth question about creating meaningful measures is what would your most authentic self say about the measures you've already come up? Right? So this, this is like if your goal is to, you know, be financially independent, you know, and that's all you're focused on right now. Would you, your most authentic self, who maybe would value family, would be like, hey, like, you're focused over here, but you don't have any focus on something that you really find in line with your values, like, how can we incorporate that into what you're doing? And so you have to know your values. And one of the exercises I love to do with my coaching clients is the clarity. Three words exercise. So if we go back to that most authentic, most successful future self, what three words would you describe that person being? Just personality wise. So it could be, you know, for me it's optimistic, it's present and it's creative. Right. So and those are three words that are important to me, being my best self when I show up here. You know, I need to be optimistic for my clients, I need to be present for my clients and I need to be helping them creatively find solutions. So these are the five questions that can help you create those meaningful measures. You know what's most important to you right now? What are the intrinsic indicators that show you're making progress? What are those extrinsic indicators that are showing you're making progress? What else is important outside of those two areas? And then what? How would you be measuring your values and how would your most authentic self advise you in how you're measuring things? So I know that's a lot, guys, but I just want to say this is the end of the Meaningful Revolution series. I'm so happy you guys have been here with me. If you have any questions, post them below and we'll go on from there. But that said, guys, I hope you enjoy this. Hope you found something that you really love. If you are struggling, you can always hit the link below this video on the blog and get a free one hour strategy session. We can go over how we can generate more meaning for you in your life. If that's your bag. If not, no worries. We'll be back next week with a new series of some sort and I'll announce that then. Okay, so with that said, this is Shawn Butler saying go with live with more joy, more personal growth, more impact in your communities. We'll see. See you next week.