Vision and Positive Change
I am a big proponent of challenge and growth. Like a video game, I sit down, focus, and make an attack plan to make it to the next level. Inevitably, I level up—which feels amazing, but once I feel comfortable on that level I can sometimes feel lost. How could I work so hard and so focused to only end up lost?
Well, It turns out I wasn't as focused as I thought. Ouch, ego blow! I guess I am just going to have to dust myself off, and come up with a better action plan! So, what is this woman talking about? Valid question...
Have A Clear Vision: I think this is where a lot of us can begin to get lost. It's easy to say, "I want things to be better!" "I want to make more money." "I want to be a faster runner." But in what way specifically do you want things to improve? A dear friend of mine always asks, "What are the measurables?" You may be asking," What the heck does that mean?!" But it's quite obvious. What can be measured. What data/information is present? What do you want to see change? For example; Say, "I want to increase my monthly income to $X dollars a month... or... I want to increase my client retention X% this quarter...or I want to decrease my mile time when running." The fun with visualization is you get to make the rules. It's your vision. Go nuts! Dream Big! Why not? And write it down...somewhere you can go back and find it. That's key. It feels really good to go back and see what you wrote down and see how far you have come.
Support The Vision: Spend time daily. Even if it's 1 minute or 10 minutes. Call it meditation, or prayer, or write it down, or have mantra you say out loud. It sound weird, but it's important. Tell the people in your circle; friends, family, coworkers. This creates accountability, which may feel like pressure. But to make a diamond of coal we need pressure. Pressure can also be called motivation. This feeling of pressure is in your mind. Which can be challenging in it's own right. Then, like your Vision, you remember, "Hey, this is mine! I am manifesting change and it feels hard. And that's OK! Much of what is worth doing is not easy. It takes determination. You will not regret working hard. You will not regret staying focused. You will not regret being loyal to your vision. Conversely, walking away from your vision (because it feels difficult) may create a path of regret or self defeat. Good news though, it is completely natural to loose focus, and the gift with energy and thought is it's never to late to star all over again!
Open your your heart and mind for the change: Open yourself up to the notion that you could be experiencing greater success. Yes, this may be sounding a bit "self-helpy/cheesy", but it's a necessary step. It's difficult because it's not an A, B, C, 1, 2, 3 situation. It's not cut and dry. I can admit this part was challenging for me since I'm a Type A person who prefers consistency and clear cut path. But once I decided I was all in with my vision I rolled up my sleeves and asked myself, "OK, what can I do differently today?" One of my recent vision goals was to increase my retention percentage in a recent quarter. I'm going to be real honest here; it was a bit of an ego blow to acknowledge that I needed to improve in this department. You see, I fancy myself quite talented in my trade and thought, "Hmpff! Me need to improve?! But I was killing it! Right?!?" Oops! Looks like I had allowed myself to get a little too comfortable. Ouch! Again, it is not easy to admit this to you. I have spiritual practice and part of it revolves around the letting go of the ego. Well, the joke was on me. (Insert Laughing at self! Hahaha!) And in the spirit being really honest, I was not initially laughing. I was irritated! But, I looked myself square in face (literally and metaphorically) and asked myself why I had this resistance? Why was I limiting myself...Oh Boy! Eureka! That was it! I realized I was placing limitations on my potential. Upon seeing this I was then open to acknowledge that I was a little scared. That's all...just a bit of fear.
Put The Vision To Work: Make that dream do some heavy lifting. Treat it like a science experiment. This is the fun part. What I loved about this process was I could just pick one thing at a time, and simply try it. Then sit back and see what happens. I looked at my daily work practice and tore it apart. I consulted with others in my field, asked questions and tried new things. For example, as a massage therapist we do a lot of listening. I made a specific goal to ask more open ended questions and listened better. I followed through with clear questions about the clients' expectation for the massage. And when the appointment was over I asked direct questions about the issues originally brought into the room and if they felt like they were addressed. This helped! Of coarse I was already doing this with clients, but my process was not as distilled and focused as it could have been. Another thing I tried was writing directly to my clients, going the extra mile as they say. I wrote to them about difficult things they were facing in their lives, about progress we had been making together in their treatment, or simply to say 'Hello' and thank them for their loyalty. Every day I thought about my clear vision. I spent a small amount of time "manifesting it" through meditation (again, call it what you like to match you). Then I opened my mind to the idea that it would work. And at work, I took to making small and significant changes. All said it was simple, but not always easy! I also suggest giving yourself grace when taking on new challenges. Growth isn't always linear. There are ups and downs. There is quiet a bit of two steps forward and one step back...but you are moving forward. Be grateful to yourself for growing.
I'm Happy to report that my retention vision Goal was reached. Yay! It feels amazing to see the hard numbers in front of me (though I still have room to improve and I plan on it) Honestly, it's a little spooky and wild and beautiful! Now I know this really works. One of the many gifts of self growth and challenge is that it never ends. One may feel annoyed by this, but choose to feel excited about it! And now I'm armed with this wonderful 'How To' for visualizing and making positive growth and change in my life. Will it be hard work? Yes. Am I stoked to see where this wacky adventure takes me, Absolutely!
I'm excited for you and for me! Cheers on the road to success!
May You Be Well,
Lily Lunnemann
