Mind & Spirit
Give your life a makeover
Mind & Spirit
Give your life a makeover
Life has a way of keeping us so busy, jumping from one role to the next, that we forget who we are and who we are meant to be. Too often we get stuck in ruts, shifting in and out of professional, relational and familial roles, while trying to be who others need us to be. Life becomes about survival and, as we struggle to simply stay afloat, we stop striving to achieve our full potential. We make decisions that are safe rather than in our best interest.
If this is happening to you, it's time for a mental makeover! Time to remember who you are by reinventing yourself, starting by changing the beliefs and attitudes that limit you and prevent you from achieving your potential. With so many options and opportunities in life, there's no reason to stay stuck with something that (at best) bores you or (at worst) makes you miserable.
Reinventing yourself isn't just about doing something different. It has more to do with what goes on inside of you. The key ingredients are self-awareness, vision, courage and the ability to tolerate criticism and bear frustration. Your outer image may change, but if you have the same set of behaviours, emotions and judgments going on inside, nothing will really change.
Ready for your makeover? Here are some steps to reinventing yourself:
1. Get to know yourself. Developing self-awareness is the first step to reinventing yourself. Do a personality test such as the Striving Styles Assessment™ or the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® to know your personality preferences, strengths, challenges and needs. Assess what characteristics and skills you want to develop and habits you need to change.
Page 1 of 2 – Discover four more foolproof ways to give your life a makeover on page 2.
2. Create a vision. If you don't know what your future looks like, how can you create it? Imagine what it would look and feel like to be the new you. Vision boards are a fantastic way of letting yourself know what you want to. Devise one a vision board complete with pictures, statements for the future, clothes you will wear, money you will make, etc. Dream big – and capture it on paper.
3. Develop an action plan. Using key goals from your vision, write out a step-by-step plan for attaining each of these goals. Identify possible pitfalls or obstacles to your plan so that you can plan in advance how you are going to deal with them. Take action and work those goals. Even a small step on your plan each day will move you closer to your vision.
4. Develop tolerance to criticism. As much as they love you, friends and family don't always like it when you start to change. Prepare yourself for criticism, skepticism or even blatant sabotage. You may have to help others adjust to your new self and lifestyle, and let go of those who can't. Most importantly, don't let anyone talk you out of doing what you know in your heart is the right thing for you.
5. "Fake it 'til you make it." You can't just decide to be different without working at it. You have to act the part before it becomes natural to you. This is the step that trips most people up because they don't like what they are feeling. Prepare to feel anxious, embarrassed and uncomfortable as you try on the new you. You are going to feel like a fake, but accept it and don't give up.
Patience with the process and determination to get to the other side is the only way you will achieve a successful reinvention. Remember that you are working to close the gap between where you are and where you want to be. You don't have to settle for being someone you don't want to be. You're never too old to reinvent yourself and get back onto the track you detoured from many years ago.
Dare to dream of who and what you can become, then take steps to make it happen. Craft the life you are meant to live as the person you are meant to be.
Anne Dranitsaris, Ph.D. is a Toronto-based clinical psychotherapist, corporate therapist and author. She is partner at Sage, Kahuna Enterprises, where she offers clients the opportunity to achieve their potential whether as individuals, teams, leaders, organizations or entrepreneurs and business owners.
Dr. Dranitsaris is currently preparing her book on Striving Styles™ for publication this year. For more information, contact Anne directly at anne@sagekahuna.com.
Page 2 of 2 – On page 1, find out how to prepare to change your life for the better.
If this is happening to you, it's time for a mental makeover! Time to remember who you are by reinventing yourself, starting by changing the beliefs and attitudes that limit you and prevent you from achieving your potential. With so many options and opportunities in life, there's no reason to stay stuck with something that (at best) bores you or (at worst) makes you miserable.
Reinventing yourself isn't just about doing something different. It has more to do with what goes on inside of you. The key ingredients are self-awareness, vision, courage and the ability to tolerate criticism and bear frustration. Your outer image may change, but if you have the same set of behaviours, emotions and judgments going on inside, nothing will really change.
Ready for your makeover? Here are some steps to reinventing yourself:
1. Get to know yourself. Developing self-awareness is the first step to reinventing yourself. Do a personality test such as the Striving Styles Assessment™ or the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® to know your personality preferences, strengths, challenges and needs. Assess what characteristics and skills you want to develop and habits you need to change.
Page 1 of 2 – Discover four more foolproof ways to give your life a makeover on page 2.
2. Create a vision. If you don't know what your future looks like, how can you create it? Imagine what it would look and feel like to be the new you. Vision boards are a fantastic way of letting yourself know what you want to. Devise one a vision board complete with pictures, statements for the future, clothes you will wear, money you will make, etc. Dream big – and capture it on paper.
3. Develop an action plan. Using key goals from your vision, write out a step-by-step plan for attaining each of these goals. Identify possible pitfalls or obstacles to your plan so that you can plan in advance how you are going to deal with them. Take action and work those goals. Even a small step on your plan each day will move you closer to your vision.
4. Develop tolerance to criticism. As much as they love you, friends and family don't always like it when you start to change. Prepare yourself for criticism, skepticism or even blatant sabotage. You may have to help others adjust to your new self and lifestyle, and let go of those who can't. Most importantly, don't let anyone talk you out of doing what you know in your heart is the right thing for you.
5. "Fake it 'til you make it." You can't just decide to be different without working at it. You have to act the part before it becomes natural to you. This is the step that trips most people up because they don't like what they are feeling. Prepare to feel anxious, embarrassed and uncomfortable as you try on the new you. You are going to feel like a fake, but accept it and don't give up.
Patience with the process and determination to get to the other side is the only way you will achieve a successful reinvention. Remember that you are working to close the gap between where you are and where you want to be. You don't have to settle for being someone you don't want to be. You're never too old to reinvent yourself and get back onto the track you detoured from many years ago.
Dare to dream of who and what you can become, then take steps to make it happen. Craft the life you are meant to live as the person you are meant to be.
Anne Dranitsaris, Ph.D. is a Toronto-based clinical psychotherapist, corporate therapist and author. She is partner at Sage, Kahuna Enterprises, where she offers clients the opportunity to achieve their potential whether as individuals, teams, leaders, organizations or entrepreneurs and business owners.
Dr. Dranitsaris is currently preparing her book on Striving Styles™ for publication this year. For more information, contact Anne directly at anne@sagekahuna.com.
Page 2 of 2 – On page 1, find out how to prepare to change your life for the better.
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