What’s your desired outcome?

Now I don’t use this question for everything I’m doing, but there are times when I find it essential to getting the job done.

When I’m working on an important project, in an important meeting, or consulting with a client…

If I find myself getting stuck for any reason… lost in the details, or overwhelmed by the options, or confused by the conflicting points of view…

This is the first place I look for clarity.

I ask the question:

What’s your desired outcome?

You see, this question is like magic.

It cuts through the noise and focusses on the one thing that’s important… what you want.

When you get clear on what you want, your desired outcome, it really can help you get unstuck…

• All that information, those options and conflicts, can now be evaluated based on if it supports the outcome or not, and this brings clarity to your mind and your work.
• You stop meandering aimlessly, because it gives you a direction. It gives you a singular focus to move towards.
• You’re no longer lost. You now know where you are in relation to where you want to get to… you not only see the direction, but you can evaluate the gap and understand what you need to do to get from here to there. This helps you to develop a plan.
• It gives you what you need to track your progress, know how well you are doing, and even to celebrate your success!

You get all of this from being clear on what you want, being clear on your desired outcome!

Easier To Achieve

What I’ve learned from years of coaching, is not just the power of being clear on what you want, but…

“The more clarity you have on what you want, the easier it is to achieve it.”

The clearer you are on your desired outcome and where you are now, makes it easier to make a plan to get from where you are to where you want to be.

• Options become more obvious… and easier to evaluate.
• What you need to accomplish the goal, the resources you need, become clear, so you can acquire them.
• Things that may get in your way, the obstacles, are highlighted, so you can plan how you will overcome them.

When starting something new, we’re normally eager to jump in and take action, but when it’s important, the time taken up front to get clarity on what you want, will pay great dividends along the way.

Greater Clarity

So, here are a two additional questions you can ask to get more detail on your desired outcome.

The first question is…

What will you see, hear and feel when you have it?

A lot of times we think about things in an abstract way, like, I want to more profit, to be more attractive, or to communicate better.

Asking this question brings the concept into the real world.

It makes it real, something you can see, hear, and touch… and that gives you a much clearer level of detail to consider.

When I do this, I find it easier to consider each one separately, firstly what I’ll see and writing that down, then what I’ll hear, then what I’ll feel.

If it’s necessary, you can also ask the same question but from someone else’s point of view.

What would someone else see, hear and feel when you have it?

Sometimes it’s easier to answer, and you can get additional, useful information from this perspective.

The second question is…

How will you know when you have it?

This question makes you specify what your evidence will be to know that you have actually attained your goal, that you have it.

• If it’s a financial result, maybe you’ll see it on a report, or online in your bank account and this would be your evidence that you have it.
• It may be some type of deliverable, like a business plan, a prototype model, a certificate of completion.
• It may be that someone tells you that it’s complete. Who would that be and when?

If it makes it easier, you could consider…

If someone was getting this for you, what would you accept as evidence that they had delivered it?

Specifying how you will know you have it, gives you such clear information that it almost certainly helps in getting unstuck and moving forward.

So, when you’re doing something that’s important to you, and you find yourself unclear, overwhelmed, bogged down, lost, or stuck in any way, remember this one simple technique.

Get clear on what you want… specify what your desired outcome will look like… and it will pull you out of the forest, show you the path, and help you to move forward!