It’s not what you do, sometimes it’s how you do it that makes the difference between success or not.If something we are doing is not working out for us, we tend to assume that we are bad at it. It could just be that we have an inefficient or miscalculated strategy for accomplishing it. By ‘strategy’ I mean the way in which we organise our thoughts and behaviours to accomplish a task, a bit like a recipe for baking a cake but for your subconscious.We have strategies for virtually everything we do from how we tie our shoelaces to how we fall in love …We first develop our strategies when we are young, and sometimes rather haphazardly. At an early age, we can put a series of internal and external experiences together and end up with a result. Let’s say the result was, for example, we made ‘a decision’. If the result proves to be positive, it makes sense that we might then generalise that same process we used saying, either consciously or unconsciously, “OK, this is a good way to make a decision”, and continue to use that process over and over again as our ‘decision-making’ strategy. Unfortunately, the strategy doesn’t get much rigorous testing before it is set. It’s as if our subconscious decides: if the way we do something the first time works, why change it?Then our strategies get tangled up in our belief system: ‘this is the way it’s done’ or ‘how I’ve always done it’ etc.If we start getting undesirable results, we tend to assume the fault lies with us personally, “I can’t do math,” “I’m no good in relationships”, “I always fall apart in exams”. But it’s not the person that needs ‘fixing’, just that particular strategy that isn’t working.We all have our strengths and our weaknesses … areas where we excel and shine and others where we just don’t seem to ‘get it’ … It is possible to use the strategies that work in some areas of your life and transfer them to another — taking the same approach, motivation techniques, organisation techniques, outlook etc and applying them elsewhere.One example, I was working with a client who always felt pressured for time. His days were chaotic and busy and he felt he had so many things to do but wasn’t getting enough done. He had recently retired from a very successful career. I asked if his days had been the same whilst he was working … “No”, he said, “there was always a schedule. I knew what I was doing at every given moment …”I didn’t have to say anything more, he was already having an ah-ha moment … He could create himself a schedule. He was shaking his head that, as simple as it seemed, he hadn’t thought of it before. But our strategies are formed independently and at different times, and we tend to compartmentalise. ‘Work life’ is work life, home is home, we think learning chemistry is different to learning the words to that song I love, a job interview is different to meeting up with friends we haven’t seen in ages, making sales calls is different to playing golf … But do they have to be? Where do you already have skills or confidence that can be transferred? How can we make our lives better and easier by doing more of what we already do so well?I met a fabulous mother recently who demonstrates exactly how strategies can be transferred. Having gone from a high-flying career as an ‘organisation fixer’ turning companies around in a matter of months and getting revenue and productivity to soar … she found herself on maternity leave. This can be a notorious difficult transition, especially the first time into the unknown territory of baby-dom. This mum described, having read all the baby manuals, not understanding why her crying little ‘bundle of joy’ wasn’t conforming to the books’ descriptions and sleeping when it was supposed to and eating the right amount etc (because what baby ever does?). This is something that can leave many new mothers feeling rather helpless. But instead of despairing, she decided to use her strategies for getting companies on track for getting her little-one on track: setting targets, and monitoring progress, keeping records, celebrating strengths and building on weaknesses. She approached her new role in a way that made sense to her and in terms that she felt comfortable and confident with. Result — success: a happy, healthy child and a mum feeling calm, more in control, able to cope with the new territory because she’s using strategies she already has.And if you’re struggling to see a way of adapting your existing good strategies to accomplish something, find someone else who does it well, and borrow theirs! If you know someone who is really successful at what you are trying to achieve, ask them how they do it. Most people are willing to share their best practice (and would probably be flattered). People might say, “I just do what comes naturally,” but even the most gifted ‘talent’ has a strategy of approach if it’s slowed right down and analysed. NLP suggests that to truly model a strategy requires knowing what and how the person is seeing, hearing and feeling both their internal and external world and what they are telling themselves, and then the sequence of steps they put in place. See how much of this information you can glean and apply but even some good techniques, approaches and tips can be enough to help you rewire your strategy. Then test it out and keep tweaking until it works!From now on, rather than beating yourself up for things you think you ‘can’t’ do or that aren’t working for you, try instead re-strategising for your success.* Julia Pitt is a trained Success Coach and certified NLP practitioner. For further information contact Julia on (441) 705-7488, www.juliapittcoaching.com.