In a blog post related to self-improvement, adapted from his new book The Earned Life, the renowned leadership expert and bestselling author Marshall Goldsmith talks about how asking daily questions can lead to better self-knowledge and a stronger path toward reaching goals.
Goldsmith writes: “I have found that daily questions are a way to ensure that we not only plan but that we take action. Over the years, as I’ve incorporated such concepts and activities into my coaching as the referent group, the notion of feedforward, stakeholder-centered coaching, the business plan review, and the ‘what’s next’ weekend, I’ve also found that daily questions are a powerful way to keep people on track. The fact is, we are superior planners and inferior doers. Daily Questions is the tool I picked up a decade and a half ago to deal with my repeating pattern of well-meaning intention followed by unreliable execution.”
Many middle-aged people who took early retirement during the pandemic have returned to the office. They have realized that they were not quite ready to leave the workforce. Millions of older Americans have returned — about 64% percent of adults between the ages of 55 and 64 were working as of April, about the same rate as in February 2020. For many people, early retirement was never an option, and, even as Covid in different variations has resurfaced, a need to work has become stronger than a fear of falling ill. These people have asked themselves what matters, and it’s a matter of livelihood.
In The Earned Life Goldsmith uncovers the source of today’s existential crises, including regrets that stem from choices that irrevocably alter our lives, reroute destinies, and haunt our memories. These are particularly timely themes today.
With Goldsmith’s book as a guide, readers can close the gap between what they plan to achieve and what they actually get done—even in a world full of inescapable unfairness and curveballs—and live an earned life that is fulfilling in the long run.
You can read Marshall Goldsmith’s blog here.
About MARSHALL GOLDSMITH
Marshall Goldsmith has been recognized for years as the world’s leading executive coach and the New York Times bestselling author of many books, including What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, Mojo, and Triggers. He received his Ph.D. from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. In his coaching practice, Goldsmith has advised more than 200 major CEOs and their management teams. He and his wife live in Nashville, Tennessee.
About THE EARNED LIFE
In THE EARNED LIFE (Currency Books), Marshall Goldsmith uncovers the source of today’s existential crisis: regret, the kind stemming from choices that irrevocably alter our lives, reroutes destinies, and haunts our memories—particularly timely themes as the pandemic and Great Resignation inspire people to seek meaning in their lives, get unstuck and make changes. With this book as their guide, readers can close the gap between what they plan to achieve and what they actually get done—even in a world full of inescapable unfairness and curveballs—and live an earned life too fulfilling to dwell on the “what ifs.”
If you’d like more information on Marshall Goldsmith, The Earned Life, and his work, please get in touch with Lyda Goldsmith.
