Executive coach AK Ikwuakor discusses mindful goal setting with Jessi Hempel. They explore the importance of self-awareness, micro habits, and personal ownership in achieving goals. They also touch on the power of intuition in public speaking and stress relief techniques.
Taking ownership of our decisions empowers us to influence our circumstances and reach goals effectively.
Exploring our deeper values behind ambitions ensures alignment with true desires and informed goal pursuit.
Deep dives
Take Ownership and Control What You Can
To perform our best and reach our goals, it is crucial to recognize that we have control over the decisions we make in our lives. This means taking ownership of our actions and believing that we can influence our circumstances. It involves identifying what we do have control over, even if we can't control external factors. For example, when seeking a promotion, focus on the actions you can take to improve your chances, such as seeking recommendations from managers and working towards the required skills.
Discover Your Driving Values
Understanding what truly motivates us and drives us is essential for personal performance. We often fixate on external goals but neglect to ask ourselves why those goals are important. By exploring the deeper values behind our ambitions, we can ensure that our pursuits align with our true desires. For instance, someone seeking a promotion may realize that what they truly value is autonomy, only to discover that the desired role might compromise that. Taking the time to uncover our driving values helps us make informed decisions and pursue goals that genuinely resonate with us.
Micro Habits and Creating Space for Yourself
Building new habits and making behavioral changes can be overwhelming. Coach AK suggests using micro habits as incremental steps towards larger goals. These small, actionable steps make it more manageable to incorporate new behaviors into our routines. Additionally, he emphasizes the importance of creating dedicated time for yourself in your schedule. Even short periods of reflection or quiet can help cultivate self-awareness and reduce stress. Taking just a few moments to be still and listen to your own thoughts can have a profound impact on personal performance and overall well-being.
We’re heading into the second month of the year, which means many of us might need an extra boost of encouragement to keep those new year's resolutions going. Today’s guest has a unique approach to achieving goals. AK Ikwuakor, also known as Coach AK, is an executive coach and the author of The Next Right Move. He works with professionals to form habits that bring them closer to what they want to achieve. He sits down with Jessi to discuss how mindfulness can help us understand ourselves, and by extension our goals, much better.