Imagine yourself at your goal: If that’s a weight or number, if that’s a way you handle success – or failure, some form of personal development, feeling like a healthy, confident person, whatever your goal may be. Get the vision firmly in your mind.
What does that look like to you?
How do you behave or react differently?
I was born a redhead, and many of the things they say are true – whether that’s inherent or because I was raised with people who assigned certain characteristics based on a stereotype. Truth is, I can be . . . feisty . . . shall we say.
Now, in public situations, and for many years when I was counseling and serving as a hospital chaplain, it was a bit like I put on a cloak when I walked into work. I stepped into the role and behaved accordingly. No redheaded nonsense, please.
My very wise and wonderful coach helped me work through that – the idea of simply being oneself whatever the context. The thing is, my counselor/coach/chaplain self is the better part of my nature, which made it the best vision to pursue. The catch was figuring out what that would look like in various contexts, in the realities of life.
What would it look like to be that better part of myself amidst conflict, frustration, chaos, or sadness?
Part of my “stuff” was emotional eating, so I have to pay attention to my feelings and foods that I don’t handle wisely. What guidelines around food would help me live at my best?
Get down into the nitty-gritty of who you are at your goal. What parts need shoring up, what pieces need to be completely extracted or changed, as well as what traits should be created or enhanced?
Once you have that clear either on paper or in your mind, practice. Act like you’re already there. That’s the quickest way to get there to be honest. Practice and learn and keep practicing until it becomes your natural response.
If you’ve ever learned a second language, you’ll know the words don’t feel quite right in your mouth at first. When you’ve learned a new skill, it’s taken practice to get comfortable using it. If you’re over a certain age, it takes us a while to catch up with all the technology, the different social media outlets – or a new nutrition plan. We have to figure out how it works.
It’s a stage we know well in other contexts. Getting to your goal is just like that. Figure out what it will look like, and act from that place, and you will reach your goal more easily.
Need some help figuring it out? Let’s talk: [email protected]
