Raise your hand if you’ve ever given someone advice that you, yourself, also need to take 😉 Don’t worry — it happens to the best of us!
In fact, this social norm is so common that we’ve been thinking about how your own advice could be exactly what you need to start conquering your can’t. So, we’ve decided to run a special experiment that is designed to help you tune in to your instincts and leverage the voice in your head.
In this experiment, you will be coaching yourself through the month of February. Our team is starting today, Feb. 1, and we invite you to do the same. If for some reason you can’t start today, just jump in as soon as possible. We wouldn’t want a start date to be the reason you miss out.
Is there a catch? Unless you would consider expecting no outcomes a catch, then nope! As an experiment, the idea is simply that you will focus on observing your habits and thoughts without judgment, in order to create more awareness around what you need to help move you toward your unique goals.
The truth is that you probably know what you need to achieve. And through this experiment, you’ll get the opportunity to develop more trust with yourself and do what you know is best for you.
This is what the Coach Yourself Challenge is all about: using your own strengths, existing knowledge, and resources to emerge new insights into your personal growth.
HERE’S HOW YOU DO IT:
- Each day, for 30 days straight, think of at least one piece of advice you want to give your future self.
- You can write the advice down in a journal (paper or digital), record a voice note, or make a quick video. Find the medium that feels right for you and stick to it for the entire 30 days.
- Give yourself as many messages as you’d like throughout the day, but commit to at least one sentence per day.
- At the end of 30 days, you’ll be your future self and can go back to learn directly from the person that knows you best.
HELPFUL TIPS TO OPTIMIZE YOUR SELF-COACHING
- Try to consistently refer to yourself in third person. Or even give yourself a cool nickname that motivates you (think: YourName 2.0, Future YourName, etc.)
- Try not to go back and review your daily nuggets of wisdom (we know it’s tempting, but trust us! It’s worth the wait). Simply document a new one at the same time each day.
- If you miss a day, think of it as a missed appointment and get back on the horse.
- You can set a reminder on your phone to ping you at the same time each day and prompt you to coach yourself.
- If you find yourself starting to ignore it, be sure to change it to a better time.
If you can’t think of something one day, come up with a question you’d like answered.
That’s it! Seriously. Give yourself advice one time a day for 30 days. If you’re feeling skeptical about this idea, check out this note from our CEO Victor — both the brainchild of this challenge AND its first guinea pig:
I started without any expectations — I just wanted to see if I would stick to it, and I was curious about what I would say to myself. I’ve tried journaling before but never stuck to it. That said, committing to a single sentence a day was hard to say no to. I already use the Day One personal journaling app for iPhone, so I just started a new journal called Coach Yourself.
Like most things, it started as a chore. I had to set a reminder for 8pm each night. But after a few days, I noticed that I was becoming more attuned to behavior patterns or areas for improvement. I did make one course correction along the way: I realized I was only focused on what to do better and wasn’t giving myself any credit for things I do well. So, I tried to balance it out a bit more, and realized that it’s just as important to think about my strengths and wins.
I’ve certainly had days where I drew a blank. In that case, I just wrote a question that I’d like answered. My messages overall have ranged from things I want to change, things I want to focus on, things I do well, values I’m upholding, random patterns I didn’t know I had, and tough confessions. In the beginning, the tough part is coming up with something. Midway through, the tough part is not to look back. In the end, I feel like my inner voice is a little less judgey, a little more intentional, and a lot more helpful in keeping me on the right path.
At Primal 7, our goal is to help people realize that they’re capable of more and then give them the tools to achieve their version of success. — Victor AbiJaoudi II, CEO
If you’re in and up for the challenge of coaching yourself, here’s how to join:
Simply join our private Coach Yourself Challenge Facebook group and commit. Please note that this is a different group from our Primal 7 Customer Group on Facebook, but if you’re not in there yet and have a system, then please do join! We’ll post updates, encouragement and more information throughout the month.
Not a Facebook person? No problem! You can get the updates, encouragement and info via email instead. Just opt in right here to join our #CoachYourselfChallenge email group (no sales emails, just Challenge-related stuff!).
This challenge is for anyone and everyone — even if you’re already a coach or a trainer, we’d love to have you join in on the fun! Invite your clients to join along with you, and let’s inspire transformation, together.
We’ll be using the hashtag #CoachYourselfChallenge, so be sure to follow along on social media (and post your own experience if you’re in, of course)!
If you have questions, please reach out to jamie@primal7.com for help. Let’s do this!