 |
 |
 |
           |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
 |
Envisioning Your Ideal Self
In my work as a professional coach, I've had the opportunity to interact with hundreds of individuals. I've found that people who are successful and fulfilled share common characteristics. *They believe their success has very little to do with what they have, and everything to do who they are. *They hold an ideal about the kind of person they want to be. *They're willing to step into that vision, and hold themselves accountable to high behavioral standards. The quality of your life is predicated by the manner in which you participate in it. Your participation is based on who you believe you are. Unquestionably, you have beliefs about who you are, even if you've never consciously considered them. Today, I challenge you to examine and expand on these beliefs. I challenge you to develop not only an understanding of the person you are today, but a solid vision of the person you dream of becoming. Your Ideal Self To create an ideal reality, you must develop a vision, which is an idea about how you'd like the future to be. It's a clear picture of what you'd like to create, and can be a source of motivation, supporting you through the challenges involved in making your dreams come true. An ideal is a principle or standard worth trying to achieve. Your ideal self is the person that you've always imagined being, and encompasses all the power, strength, and integrity, you've aspired to. This ideal invokes a sense of confidence, pride, and serenity, and is you, at your best. There are three steps involved in defining this amazing person. First, you must connect with the qualities or character traits that guide her behavior... Once you've defined these individual characteristics, you need to identify the behavioral standards that she holds herself to. Finally, you must decide that you are going to show up in your life acting "as if" you are already this person. Let's move through each step. Your Character Traits All of us possess positive and negative characteristics. It's important to identify all of your personal characteristics as you develop your vision of the person that you're committed to being. Make a list of the positive traits you'd like to incorporate in your ideal vision, and the negative tendencies you'd like to manage. In my work with clients, I've found the following approaches helpful in defining these qualities. Other People's Traits The qualities we notice in others have meaning. Both the qualities you admire and dislike have stories to tell. The qualities we most respond to in another, whether positive or negative, are qualities we possess, but have yet to recognize in ourselves. If you find yourself responding to a person you recognize as outgoing, positive, and energetic, these may be qualities you possess, but have not fully embraced or developed. In kind, if you react to the overbearing nature of another individual, you may need to recognize your own tendency to be overbearing. The Traits of Our Past We've all experienced moments where we shined. Your may have accomplished something extraordinary. You could have experienced pride as a result of persevering through a difficult situation, or been touched by your ability to contribute to another person's life. It's at these times you were applying the positive traits you naturally possess. Conversely, we've all had experiences that filled us with regret. Perhaps you spoke harshly to someone you care for, or were impatient when with your child or mate. It's in these moments your negative traits were at play. Once you've defined the building blocks of your behavior, you're ready to consider the way that you'd like to show up in your life. Your Code of Conduct I'm not suggesting you move into life with the persona of Pollyanna. I'm suggesting you consciously develop a set of standards to govern how you're committed to behaving. In coaching, we refer to this as a Code of Conduct. Your Code of Conduct defines how you'll behave, and determines how others experience you, and how you experience life. What commitments are you willing to make about how you'll conduct yourself? Act As If Change doesn't happen over night, but it can be conditioned over time. Once you've defined your ideal self and your Code of Conduct, you'll have a structure to support your behavior. Your next step requires you to begin living as the person you've envisioned. Your opportunity to be this person lives in each moment of your life. Every morning, remind yourself about the person you want to be, and reconnect with that vision whenever you begin to slip back into old patterns of behavior. Allow yourself to make mistakes. You will, and that's okay. The commitment you've made to these new standards will gradually meld into the beliefs you hold about who you are. Soon, you won't be reminding yourself that you're a nurturing person; you'll be one. You won't be managing your impatience; you will have become more patient. It will happen slowly, but it will happen. Take baby steps. You are walking a new road. Put one foot in front of the other, pace yourself, and stay connected to your ideal. About The Author Life and Business Design Expert Kim Fulcher is the founder, president and CEO of Compass Life and Business Designs, a professional coaching, training, and publishing company. Her work as an entrepreneur, company leader, author, speaker, and business coach has resulted in her national recognition as an expert in personal and professional success. Kim works with her clients to maximize their business results while balancing their busy lives, and speaks to organizations throughout The United States on subjects ranging from leadership to life balance. She is the author of the upcoming book "Remodel Your Reality; Seven Steps to Rebalance Your Life and Reclaim Your Passion" and co-author of "Lead With Purpose. Live With Passion. A Femalepreneur's Guide to Small Business Success". For a free weekly dose of inspiration and for a host of free tools and products, visit our site at http://www.compasslifedesigns.com.
MORE RESOURCES:
Positive-Attitude - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Balanced Living: 18 Steps A balanced life not only leaves you feeling more fulfilled; you will become healthier in body as well as mind. Ponder on each step below. Define Yourself With Confidence As a trainer of coaches I often teach my students to move beyond the skill of coaching into the skill of self-trusting. Having great mastery of a specific skill is important, but without self-mastery all we become are manipulators of open-ended questions. Growth From Discontent: Lifes Way Of Giving You A Little Push That strange, gut-wrenching feeling you have is not the sushi you had for lunch. It's your soul trying to give you a nudge to do something. How to Cope With Your Inner Food Critic Every day that I eat EnergyRich? Food, I get almost instantaneous results. It's wonderful: I feel good about myself, I am productive in my work, I am available for my friends and family. You may be Shocked to Hear This What I mean of course is, to appreciate life through the eyes of a child. Remember your unbounding joy when you received your first tricycle or bike with training wheels or visited Disneyland for the first time. Living in the Moment This week's wisdom is on the power of living in the moment. That ability we all have to be present. The 5 Words That Are Ruining Your Life How would you like to stop feeling like your life isn't good enough? (I realize advertisers would go broke if this happened, but it's better for you!) Imagine feeling joyful, whole and complete when you look in the mirror at the end of the day.What if I showed you how you're consciously creating circumstances and beliefs everyday that give you results you aren't happy with? Would you like to change it?It's much simpler than you think. Positive Thought The power of positive thoughts to affect one's experience of life has long been recognized. Positive thinking has been credited with the success of many business people. Fearing the Future: I am what I Fear! When we were children, we were fearless. We would stick our hands in the fire, chew on the beetle bugs, and eat that dirt. Creative Visualization For Successful Goal Achievement No one becomes successful by accident. Motivational speaker Les Brown advises, "You must see your goals clearly and specifically before you can set out for them. Open the Pandoras Box & Unleash your Hidden Power. It really doesn't matter what your objectives are in this life. You breathe, live and act on a conscious level all day long. Courtesy In The Workplace -- Can You Say, Thank You? Thank you is such a beautiful phrase. When you say, thank you, it makes a world of difference. Motivate To Activate A Positive Lifestyle What do you do when things in your life don't turn out to your satisfaction? What do you do when your goal-setting plans go astray, or when you expect something special in your life to happen and it just doesn't work out?What happens to you when you have a major financial crisis, a serious health problem, a family problem or anything that suddenly disrupts your whole life? Do you give up? Throw in the towel? Or do you say, "I knew things wouldn't work out I'll just give up.I Hope this is not what happens to you! That is Not "The Cure" No! No! No! Don't let a little temporary failure get you down. When Things Go Wrong As They Sometimes Will... Dont Get Your Knickers In A Twist! In frustration it's easy to jump to false conclusions that life is out to get you. Wrong assumptions will invariably lead you to wrong conclusions. Its Okay to Be Negative Sometimes! Lately, I've been hearing that it's not okay to have negative thoughts.There's been a lot of talk about motivation, inspiration, positive energy channeling and such. Not Getting What You Want in Life? Your Thoughts Could Be the Culprit Unhappy? Stressed out? Do you feel you not only want more fun in your life, but you need more fun in your life? You seem to be doing all the right things, but yet you still feel unfulfilled. So, what's wrong? You want that feeling of happiness again, like that sense of pleasure you had as a child when you saw your first rainbow. Universal Thought Systems #4 Before we are able to use the Universal Thought System in a positive expansive manner, we must learn to use certain words in our language more effectively. The prime characteristic of the Universal Thought System is its consistency. Do You Neglect The Power Of Your Mind? James Allen, who wrote the masterpiece, As a Man Thinketh, talks about the vital power of the mind in creating success. "All that a man achieves and all that he fails to achieve is the direct results of his own thoughts. Condition or Definition? In talking with a coaching client recently, she made a statement about a negative habit followed by these words: "that's just who I am." I challenged her to re-examine what she had said. Notable Thoughts on Positive Living I went online -- and what do I see? A news report scrolled across my screen: "Murder by Mother's Milk," compliments of the Associated Press. I try to keep up with the news as it informs me of my environment, the world around me and society in general.
|
 |