Is Your Life on Adjusted Cruise Control?

On long trips, I enjoy my car’s feature of adjusted cruise control: I set the speed at which I want to stay, and not only does it keep me at that speed, but if I approach a slower-moving vehicle in front of me, it slows me down to stay at a safe following distance. However, if I “zone out” and don’t notice, I could go a while at that subtle, slower speed, adding extra time to my journey.

Do you experience this effect in your life? You get in a comfort zone in a relationship or in your role at work, and your growth begins to slow. You inadvertently stop lovingly pursuing your loved ones–or stop signing up for continuing education nor making stretch goals–or stop scheduling adventure in your discretionary time. Life becomes lackluster, and deep-down you know something is missing or something could be so much better.

Maybe this blog wakes you up, like when I realized I was steadily creeping along in the slow lane and got frustrated that I unconsciously let it happen–and wasted travel time. Maybe you are living life not as intentionally as you want for your life/career/relationship vision and vitality.

Here are a few action steps to “change lanes”:

1. Assess your trajectory. Ask for feedback from family, friends, and colleagues to see if they notice if you are coasting vs. growing. You could just take stock yourself of how/if you are better this year than one year ago in those areas of your life.
2. Decide which areas where you will “settle-for-no-more” and why it’s important to take it to the next level–and what consequences will occur if you don’t address it soon.
3. Brainstorm actions you can take to move the needle in that area of your life–the more options they better. Rank them by what ones give you a quick win or tow to start forward momentum.
4. Accelerate and celebrate! Tell a success partner what you are going to do and when, and get those actions into your schedule ASAP. Then reward yourself only after you accomplish it.

Now you are cruising once again! Enjoy that sense of productivity and the fruit of feeding your relationships and priorities. I’d love to hear about any actions you’ve taken to grow forward, and you can share your wins at growingforward@paulcasey.org