Are you ALL IN?
There’s a big difference between being ALL IN on your business dreams and being half in, half out! Personally, I’ve experienced being both in my business at different stages of my journey.
The first year in business, I was half-in, half-out. Why? Well, I was scared of going all in. I was scared of taking that leap of faith and falling flat on my face.
Back then, I even remember thinking…if I really go all in, and then fail… does that mean I just wasn’t good enough? That thought was scary.
By not going all in on my dreams, I could use the excuse that I never truly went all in. At the time, my mind convinced me that it was safer to keep one foot out. That way, if I didn’t achieve the outcomes I wanted, I could justify it by saying I never gave it my all!
How crazy is that?
This is what our mind does though. Most times, it’s unconscious. And it’s only with hindsight that we realise that we’ve been holding back in business (out of fear).
So what does it really mean to be half-in, half out? And what does it mean to be ALL IN on our dreams?
Well, when you’re half-in, half-out, it feels wishy washy. Of course you might still be working through your business to-do list, but it’s almost as if you’re just going through the motions.
Being half-in, half-out often looks like you’re not even sure if you want to reach your business goal. It’s an indecisive meh state.
Now, from previous experience of working with business owner clients, one of the reasons you may be half-in, half out is that deep down you don’t really believe you CAN achieve your goal. Or if you do believe you can, it feels like it might take you forever to get there.
Imagine a female business owner who believes it’s going to take her “forever” to reach her business goal. How motivated do you think she’s going to be? How driven do you think she’s going to be execute? How much urgency do you think she’ll be feeling?
Let’s be honest! Probably not much!
And that’s fair – since she feels like she might NEVER get to her end goal. What’s the point? Is it even worth it? Is all this time, effort, and work worthwhile?
When you’re ALL IN, it’s completely different. You’re being pulled by your dreams. You can taste them, touch them, feel them.
Even if it’s still going to take you 2 to 5 years to make it happen, when you’re ALL IN, it feels WORTH the time and effort. The goal (when you’re all in) feels SO vivid, colourful, and compelling.
You don’t just tick off the to-do list when you’re all in. You’re fired up, determined, excited to take action. There’s value and meaning to the work that you do each day.
When you’re ALL IN, you can already clearly see the outcome in your mind EVEN if it’s not yet in your external reality. This pulls you and reminds you daily why you’re taking action in your business.
Someone who’s all in has this energy about them. They seem all sparkly and inspiring. You want to be around them. When you’re around them, you get swept away by their excitement and certainty around achieving their goal. And it’s enticing. You want a piece of it.
A business owner who’s all in utilises A LOT more of their internal resources. They’re capitalising on every strength, skill, and resource they have available to them – basically making the most of their potential. You’re giving it your ALL.
It feels energising to be all in. It feels exhilarating. And it’s incredibly fulfilling. You feel like what you’re doing has purpose. And you’re playing full out!
So what can you do to jump back into being ALL IN on your dreams and your business goals?
Below are two of my favourite journaling prompts that I use myself to go ALL IN on my business goals !
Here’s how it works. Grab a piece of paper and a pen and write this sentence stem down on the top of it:
IF I WAS TRULY ALL IN, I WOULD _____________________________________.
Then write down all of the actions you would be taking if you were truly all in. The best way to do this is through a stream of consciousness. Don’t overthink it. Just write down anything and everything that comes to mind for you.
By the way, this journaling exercise will get easier, the more you practice it. So just keep at it. Your brain will get used to coming up with answers. Make sure you challenge your mind to come up with some actions even if it comes up blank at first.
Another journaling prompt I like to use is this one:
IF I WAS ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN I’D CRUSH MY BUSINESS GOAL, I WOULD_______________________________________.
Do the exact same thing with this prompt as above. Write down all of the actions you’d be taking if you were absolutely certain that you’d hit your business goal.
If your mind struggles to come up with actions at first, it’s completely normal! Like anything else, this journaling work requires practice. But I promise it will get easier for you the more you train your mind to do this.
Even if a part of you don’t believe you can hit your business goal, just pretend. Pretend you live in a parallel universe where you DO believe you’ll crush it. What actions would you be taking then? (This tends to help me get out of my own way and allows me to come up with all kinds of actions I’d be taking if I had that level of certainty and belief in myself).
Once you’ve done these two journaling exercises, it’s time to take action! Yup – that’ right. It’s time to actually take real tangible steps. Yes – it’s uncomfortable. But it’s worth it. The more you take action from this place of being all in, the more energised and motivated you’ll feel. And the more you’ll be tapping in that state of certainty that you can achieve your BIG business goal.
So…now tell me… based on reading this blog, would you say you’re really “ALL IN” on your goal?
And if not, why not? I’d love to know what’s stopping you from truly going ALL IN on your dreams rather than just being half-in, half out. Let me know in the comments!
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