Since becoming and working as a professional personal development coach, I have learned that when a person comes to me with a goal he or she wants to achieve, there is work that needs to be addressed and accomplished before the work of the goal can even begin. I call this “the work beneath the work.”

Clients Reveal Their “Work Beneath the Work”

For example, one of my first coaching clients wanted to become a director of her own non-profit organization. Then an interesting thing happened: she wasn’t able to commit to her coaching process because things in her life were continually “coming up.” When we got together to talk about it, she decided that it wasn’t the right time to continue coaching.

What I learned from her experience was that she first needed to work on prioritizing her life and managing her time because that was keeping her from even addressing her goal, never mind working toward it.

Another one of my previous clients wanted to start her own business, working as a QiGong instructor. She was challenged with needing to get a job, as her husband wasn’t working due to a disability.

She first needed to work on becoming clear: Did she want to find a job or become an entrepreneur?

She equated her need for income with a job, not that she could create money as a QiGong instructor. There was a conflict in her consciousness, which she needed to address before the work of creating her own business could begin.

She also needed to work on her money issues (by looking at her money story) as her beliefs about money and abundance would have an effect on both her job search and creating a business.

The work we need to do before the work of a goal doesn’t always center around the world of enterprise or business. The work can show up in our personal lives as well.

For example, one of my clients came to me to work on his issues with his family. At the time, he was in a space in his relationships with family members where he was seeking to be “understood.”

When I asked him what that meant exactly, he said that he felt his family didn’t “get” him, and it was creating distance, on his part, in these relationships.

When I asked what his ideal relationships with these individuals would look like, he said, “They accept me the way that I am.”

Hearing this, I understood that he was seeking external validation. I then suggested something through a technique I call “the turnaround.”

I asked him to consider the idea that he was not “getting” his family in the same manner they were not understanding him. I also invited him to consider in what ways he still did not “get” himself. I invited him to create ways that would allow him to understand himself better for him, and to let go of the idea and expectation that his family “get” him.

He did just that.

And guess what happened? That’s right—his family came around.

It happened because he took the time and energy to give to himself what his family was not capable of giving to him at the time.

So, the question becomes…how do we determine what our “work beneath the work” is?

My 3 Step Process to Discover Your “Work Beneath the Work”

• Step one: First consider what it is you want to accomplish, which is your goal.
• Step two: Then, ask yourself, “What are the challenges in my life, as it is right now, that would keep me from accomplishing my goal?” Using the client who wanted to create a non-profit, as an example, her challenges were her job, raising her daughter, and her studies (she was also a student). What she needed to consider doing would be to look at how she managed her time and prioritize her affairs.

You have now identified what your “work beneath your work” is. These are the areas that need to be addressed before you take on your goal, as these will affect your progress toward the achievement of the goal.

• Step three: The next question to ask is, “What do I need to do in these areas that will improve the chances of my accomplishing this goal?” For the client who wanted to become a QiGong instructor, her work was looking for a job and addressing her money issues by creating a budgetary spending plan for her family. She needed to address her underlying need for stability and security, and starting a business would not provide that need; actually it would do just the opposite. Robert Kiyosaki, in his book “Before You Quit Your Job,” mentions that employees have a need for security, and entrepreneurs have a need for freedom, which I believed to be true for this client.

Closing Thoughts on the “Work Beneath the Work”

So, in closing, remember this point: Anything that you think or feel would keep you from a goal that would make your life better overall is your “work beneath the work.”

If you do the work in those areas first, you remove those obstacles to accomplishing your ultimate goal, which enables you to keep your eyes on the prize!

For more information about allowing me the opportunity to partner with you in doing your “work beneath the work” through my coaching services, check out the coaching services page here.

Your partner in doing the “work beneath the work,”