Thrive Wave Coaching

Build your game plan for life and stop feeling stuck, invisible, and lacking opportunity

“People are feeling invisible, stuck, and out of opportunities. This leads to a whole generation feeling wiped out, before they even get started.” –Daniel Priestley on The Diary of a CEO

If you’re feeling this way, know that you are not alone. Countless people around the world are in the exact same situation as you are. But you know what? It doesn’t have to stay this way forever. In this post, I’ll share how you can build your own game plan to turn the odds in your favor and create a successful life filled with meaning. 

The world is changing rapidly. AI, technology, rising prices, and political tensions are all contributing to the disruption we are currently experiencing.

What was once considered a safe career choice is being replaced by the latest tech. The jobs that once lacked employees cease to exist or are outsourced to countries with cheaper labor. Saving for your first home has become impossible as the prices keep skyrocketing. And the list goes on.

The thing is, we grew up with advice, such as study and work hard, so you’ll be able to achieve anything you want and live a good life. Somehow, this advice now seems outdated. The solid life plans we laid out are no longer applicable, and we feel like we are missing the right skills to thrive in this new environment. 

So, how do we get seen, unstuck, and find opportunities again? How do we deal with this volatile environment? And most importantly, how can we build a life where meaning and success play in the same team?

Build Your Game Plan

Before we start talking strategy, let’s talk about the bigger picture, the reason why we do what we do. The thing that lights up the flame in us and sparks the desire to take action. That helps us ease the unwanted feelings and navigate through life. 

I’m talking about gaining a sense of meaning and purpose. The desired goal(s) or outcome(s) that we want to achieve in this lifetime.

I know, big words, but don’t let them throw you off your game. Let’s break it down. 

Defining Your Meaning and Purpose

Meaning and purpose are generated through actions that are in line with our core values, through helping others, and through our personal growth. If you can combine these with your career or business, that’s even better!

Take 3 minutes to reflect on these. Start by asking yourself the following questions and write down your answers:

• What are your values? What is important to you?
• What brings you joy, happiness, or excitement?
• What is easy for you that other people often struggle with?
• What do you want to learn, or how do you want to grow?
• Imagine that you have unlimited amounts of money, time, and resources. What would you do?

These questions are designed to help you reflect and define your values, strengths, and what truly matters to you. They’ll also reveal what direction to pursue and what to focus on. Or, in other words, they give you insight into the goal(s) or the desired outcome of your game plan.

Take your time, I’ll wait 😉

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The Short-Term Game Plan

Now that we have a broader view of what you want to do in life, let’s talk strategy. 

Think about small ways to implement one or more of the items you wrote down in the previous step. What is something that you can do today with the resources you have? Even the tiniest action contributes to the sense of meaning and purpose, which compounds over time and through repetition.

Take the First Step to Success

No world champion has made it to the top in one jump. They systematically work towards their bigger goals, one small step at a time. One training at a time, one game at a time, and one victory at a time. They put in the work until they make it to the top.

Here’s the catch: Even the greatest plans fail if we never take the first step. Sometimes, it’s fear, sometimes we are too distracted by everything that’s going on around us, and sometimes, we just don’t want to step out of our comfort zones. 

To overcome the gap between planning and taking the first step, focus on one tiny thing to do. Then do it! 

After taking the first step, leverage the momentum. Complete another step, then another. Keep repeating, and before you know it, you’ve already come a long way from where you started. Acknowledge and celebrate your success. Notice how you’re slowly becoming unstuck.

A Quick Fix for Feeling Stuck and Invisible

Another way to boost a sense of meaning is to help others. Like in any team, working together creates something even greater. 

When we help others, we use our available resources, such as time, money, knowledge, skills, or simply being present, to help others with their problems and pains.

This gives us a sense of achievement, worth, being seen, belonging, and purpose. And as a bonus, it’s a great way to develop your skills and build connections.

So, if you’re currently down by a few points, pick up your game with small actions that create a sense of meaning and purpose. And then just keep going!

The Long-Term Game Plan

Now that we have the short-term game plan laid out, let’s focus on the long-term game plan. What do you want to achieve in the next couple of seasons or years?

Go back to the list you made earlier and see what topics pop out or what your bigger goal could be. Perhaps some of your answers build a bigger picture when put together. The goal should be attainable, but ambitious, specific, and actionable. If it’s a little scary, that’s perfectly ok, too.

Change is scary [or uncomfortable] for most people, but one key shift that makes a huge difference in dealing with change is mindset.

Mindset Shift for Creating Opportunities

Most people who are feeling stuck, or like there are no opportunities, have a fixed mindset. This means they believe that nothing is going to change [including themselves]. 

A fixed mindset can be spotted by thoughts such as: 

• I can’t learn this new technology
• There are so many experts out there, I cannot bring anything to the table 
• Everything is changing so fast, what can I do about it?

With a fixed mindset, disruption generally feels like it’s out of control because the change happens so rapidly, and it has an extensive reach. It throws the spotlight on everything that is limiting us. 

But what disruption essentially does is it removes the outdated and makes room for innovation to flourish. It creates new opportunities, some of which we might not recognize yet. It’s like replacing tired and injured players with fresh and energized talent to continue the game. 

A growth mindset can be spotted by thoughts such as:

• I’m not familiar with this new technology, yet.
• My unique experiences and background are valuable. I can specialize further in my area of interest to become a valued expert
• Everything is changing fast. I’m curious to find tools that make my life easier.

And this is the mindset shift that lets you thrive during challenging times. It’s learning to perceive change as an opportunity, challenges as a chance to learn, and feeling more optimistic about the world and oneself. 

What you once knew or believed to be true might not empower or support you anymore. Instead of fighting to hold on to the old, give the new a shot and open the door for opportunities. Ask yourself, what would be a more empowering way to think about this situation? Or, what if the opposite were true?

The future is unknown. It might turn out to be a missed shot, but it might as well be the champion-winning shot. The question is, are you willing to take it?

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Go Pro and Take The Shot

There’s one last thing I want to mention before I wrap this up. 

I know many of us struggle with the financial side of life. Prices have skyrocketed, jobs have become scarce and unreliable, so we do what we have to survive. We give up large chunks of our lives to ensure we and our families are provided for. So, why not try to make it a bit more enjoyable?

What I mean is trying to find ways to incorporate more of the steps from earlier into our careers, hobbies, or side hustles. Think about how you can help others, how you can lean into your strengths more, and how you can make it more aligned with your values.

Create Your Own Opportunities

Shifting your mindset to focus on opportunity and growth could mean thinking about ways to implement AI or automation to free up some time or get rid of tedious tasks. To explore whether the latest developments could enable you to reach your goals. Or what skills you could learn to speed up your career development. 

You could even consider building your own business based on your skills, strengths, and purpose. Even in the midst of this disruption that sometimes might feel like chaos, we all have a human need for connection, belonging, and being seen, heard, and valued. 

These bonds are created through shared experiences and interaction with each other. Your unique experiences and knowledge could be exactly what someone else is looking for. And before that doubt sets in again, let me tell you this: You are capable, you are worthy, and it’s attainable to you. You’ve got this! Take your shot. Go pro.

So, let’s wrap it up. 

The world is changing rapidly, leaving many feeling stuck, invisible, and out of opportunities. But our lives are not just another ticket in a blind draft waiting for a chance to shine. We don’t have to sit on the bench waiting to be put into the game. We can build our own game plan and turn the odds in our favor.

Don’t wait for the world to pass you the ball, go get it!

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Hi there! 👋

I have a tiny favor to ask you. If you enjoyed this post, could you be so kind as to show your support by liking, commenting, or sharing this post with someone who could benefit from it? 

I would truly appreciate it. 

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