"I know the price of success: dedication; hard work; and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen." Frank Lloyd Wright
"Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential". Winston Churchill
Coaching Exercise:
New Year’s Letter for 2006!
This is a great time of year to engage your imagination in what you'd love to experience in 2006. A coaching exercise that will help you attract great things is to write a projected, personal vision of your life as if it was 12/31/06. The exercise is titled, "New Year's Letter".
In your New Year's Letter, you describe all the wonderful events, activities, things, accomplishments, and experiences that you want for 2006 – as if they really happened! It's called "pretending".
What is a Personal Vision? Your personal vision must come from inside to be effective and projects you into a future that makes sense for you. Your personal vision also reflects what you find meaningful in life and how your life expresses that.
What's the value of a Personal Vision? Researchers have found that a personal vision is the most predictive factor for either success or satisfaction. The work you do to create a complete personal vision not only helps you at the present turning point; it also continues to help you at future turning points.
When you have a whole vision for your life and use your vision to make critical decisions, you are typically happier, your life is more balanced, and you direct your own life from within.
How do you create a New Year's Letter? You write a letter, dated December 31, 2006, and describe with enthusiasm, joy, and excitement, what has happened, and most importantly, how you FEEL about everything that's occurred. This is an important part of your letter - focus on how you'll FEEL as a result of having these new experiences, rather than getting stuck on the exact form of the goal.
You "act as if" you are going to send the letter to someone who is your champion, great support, cheerleader who will be so excited for YOU when they receive the letter. The secret . . . you don't send it to them! You give the letter to a trusted person (many clients send me their letters for safekeeping each year) who sends the letter back to you in mid-December of 2006!
What results have others experienced? Personal Testimonials – I wrote my own letter for 2005 in late November 2004, and some of the things that I envisioned and wanted to experience in 2005 had already started to show up or changed! How delightful!
Once you commit your vision on paper, you actually start the "alignment" process and amazing things begin to happen.
One client was very resistant to the idea, and didn't see the value with taking time to write something as abstract as a future vision. However, he decided that he'd go for it because he didn't have anything to lose. When I mailed his sealed letter to him in mid-December, he called me with amazement and joy after he read the letter he wrote the year before because . . . ALL of the items he envisioned came true!
What if . . . what you think you want shows up, but it turns out to not be what you truly wanted after all??
There is a deep wisdom in each one of us that knows what's best for us and what's possible, so I encourage you to explore if it's the essence of what you wanted, just in a different form.
The form is what you know about the goal. You may become attached to the form because that's all you know. The essence are the qualities and feelings you'd like to experience when you achieve your goal. It's more useful to focus on the essence rather than the form.
If you start to feel "stuck", notice what's holding you back. Most often, it's your old beliefs. These have a way of creating doubt about the possibility of your new adventure being possible. Remember, new, empowering, supportive beliefs will transform your vision into visible, outer experiences.
Here are the three easy steps for your New Year's Turn-Around:
- Vision - Get really clear about what you Do and Don't want.
- Connection – Strengthen your belief in the possibility of attaining your goal and experience how great it feels to reach your goal; "act as if" it is present – NOW! Be open to the infinite opportunities available to you.
- Action – Take small, action steps every day towards your goal, and you actually develop a new lifestyle around your New Year's goals.
Tips on Creating Fabulous Success in 2006!!
- Write your letter as if you are already in December 31, 2006, describing with excitement what has occurred during the year.
- Be sure to describe how you feel about the events, activities, and experiences so you can really connect with your excitement, joy, and passion about your fabulously successful 2006!
- Make space for the "new" to enter your life! That means de-clutter and organize your life and environment, clear out energy drains, and embrace the relationships of an energizing and supportive community!
- Create new thoughts and beliefs as you notice yourself getting "stuck"! As you take on a new adventure, your old beliefs may start to creep in and create some doubts – say STOP! And flip your old, disempowering belief to a supportive and empowering belief that propels you toward your goal!
- Pay attention to how your wishes for 2006 start to show up, almost effortlessly. This will open up the space for joyful and effortless success!
Action Item: In January 2007, when you received your "New Year's Letter" from your trusted person and discover that you have achieved many of your goals – let me know! I love to hear about your successes!
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