What happens when you get really clear about what you want?

Life Lessons for Leaders | On goals, focus and the stories we tell ourselves

Five weeks ago, I set myself a challenge.

​Well, technically my gym set the challenge. I just decided to throw myself into it.

After a year of niggling injuries, some fairly spectacular bouts of flu and a few false starts, I wanted to get back into running. Properly. Without pain. Without feeling like my knees were protesting every kilometre.

​And I had a very specific goal. Run 5km without pain.

​My first attempt was hardly graceful. I struggled my way through those five kilometres in 39 minutes. That was my starting point.

​I also wanted to feel fitter, stronger and a little lighter. Not dramatically different. Just more comfortable in my body and able to enjoy running again.

So I gave myself a project. Six weeks. A clear outcome. Something measurable to work towards.

​And something rather interesting happened. I became focused.

​I started clocking up kilometres. I made different choices about how I spent my time, what I ate and how I recovered. I pushed myself harder than I had in a long time, but importantly, without pushing myself to the breaking point. Running has actually become joyous again.

​It hasn't been perfect. One week I was laid up in bed. And I'll be spending the final week of the challenge in Bali, so I'll need to get my final 5km time trial test done before I go.

​I'm genuinely curious to see how much I've improved on those 39 minutes.

​But regardless of the stopwatch, I've made more progress than I expected, and I've already achieved some of the outcomes I set for myself.

​Four weeks of work. One week in bed. One to go.

​And it's got me thinking: What happens when we get really clear about what we want?

The power of giving your brain a direction

There's something fascinating about setting a goal. Suddenly, something that was previously a vague intention becomes a priority.

We start noticing opportunities. We make different decisions. We find time for things we previously told ourselves we were too busy to do.

Some people call this manifesting. I prefer to think of it as getting really clear about your desired outcome and aligning your thoughts, attention and behaviour to support it.

And there's some good research behind the power of setting goals. Goal-setting theory has long demonstrated how specific, challenging goals can help direct our attention, effort and persistence.

In my work as an NLP practitioner and coach, I spend a lot of time exploring the relationship between our conscious goals and the beliefs, habits and internal stories that can either support or undermine them.

Because wanting something consciously doesn't always mean we're behaving in ways that will help us achieve it.

We might want to become a more confident leader, but continue telling ourselves we're not ready. We might want to build our profile, but avoid putting ourselves forward. We might want to grow our business, but feel uncomfortable asking for the opportunity.

The goal says one thing. The story we're telling ourselves says another. And often, that story wins.

What if we applied the same focus to our careers?

Here's where my running challenge becomes a leadership lesson.

What if we approached our professional ambitions with the same clarity we bring to a fitness challenge? What if, for six weeks, you decided you wanted to become more visible at work?

Not famous. Not an influencer. Just more willing to contribute, share your ideas, speak about your achievements and ask for what you want.

Perhaps you'd finally put your hand up for that speaking opportunity. Perhaps you'd ask for a meeting with someone you've admired for years. Perhaps you'd share an opinion on LinkedIn rather than scrolling past everyone else's.

Or perhaps you'd stop waiting for someone to notice the work you're doing and start telling people about it.

None of these actions requires a personality transplant. But they do require intention. And sometimes, a willingness to feel a little uncomfortable.

You don't have to go to a breaking point to grow.

One of the things I'm most pleased about with this challenge isn't the kilometres or the weight I've lost. It's that I've learned to push myself without punishing myself.

In the past, I might have approached a challenge with an all-or-nothing mentality. Miss a week? You've failed. Didn't hit the target? Try harder.

But this time, I've been more interested in consistency than perfection. And I think that's a lesson many leaders could benefit from too.

We don't need to be relentlessly productive, constantly visible or endlessly ambitious to make meaningful progress.

We need a direction, a few deliberate actions and the ability to keep going when life inevitably gets in the way.

Because progress isn't always linear. Sometimes it's a great run. Sometimes it's a week in bed. And sometimes it's knowing when to rest so you can keep going.

The life lesson

Clarity changes what we pay attention to. Action changes what becomes possible.

When we know what we're working towards, we give ourselves a better chance of recognising the opportunities, habits and decisions that will help us get there.

And when we start acting like someone capable of achieving that outcome, we begin to gather evidence that perhaps we are.

My six-week running challenge was about getting fitter, feeling better and finding my running legs again. But it's reminded me of something much bigger.

We don't always need a new skill, another qualification or someone else's permission to move forward. Sometimes we need to decide what we want and give ourselves a chance to go after it.

A question to sit with

If you gave yourself six weeks to make meaningful progress towards something you've been quietly wanting, what would you choose? And more importantly, what would you start doing differently tomorrow?

Ready for your own six-week visibility challenge?

This thinking is also behind my Six Weeks to Great Visibility one-to-one coaching program.

It's designed for leaders, founders and professionals who know they have more to contribute but want the clarity, confidence and accountability to put themselves forward.

Over six weeks, we'll identify the outcome you want, work through the mindset and messaging that might be holding you back, and create practical weekly actions to move you towards it.

You'll have one-to-one coaching, personalised tasks and me in your corner, keeping you focused and accountable.

Six weeks. One clear outcome. A more visible you.

If this sounds like the challenge you've been waiting to give yourself, reply or message me with VISIBILITY, and let's talk.