What’s your Agenda?

In coaching, we talk about the client having a Big "A" agenda, and a little "a" agenda.  The Big "A" agenda is why people come to coaching in the first place: to stretch, grow, and evolve.  The little "a" agenda is the stuff in the now: our projects, our "stuff", the things we are doing, the results we want.

For me, the distinction between the Big “A” and the little “a” agendas is like how to navigate between two points in unfamiliar territory.  The Big “A” is the road map that gives you the view from above: where are you going, the big picture or vision of your trip.  The little “a” is the part when you’re actually driving the road, focusing on what’s right in front of you at the moment, trying taking the “right” turns. 

We need to hold both at the same time: if we forget the road map (Big “A”) and just focus on what’s immediately in front of us (little “a”), we’ll lose the way, and won’t know where we’re going.   But life itself – where we act out our Big "A" agenda – is made up of little moments and actions: you can’t get anywhere without action.  We have to be both intensely present in the moment (little “a”) and aware of where we are going (Big “A”).

—
So what’s your Big "A" Agenda?
How does your little "a" agenda play out your big "A"?