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I have the best job in the world.Ā
I get to see peopleās best selves.Ā
It’s like I have a superpower.Ā Everywhere I look, I see peopleās potential.
When I work with people, itās almost as if Iām working with 2 people: their current self and their future best self.
I see whatās possible for them. I can see the joy, freedom, and ease thatās possible in their future.
Here’s what I can’t do: I canāt make that future self a reality for them. I can’t force them to think certain things. I canāt force them to take certain actions.
As a coach, I can have all the knowledge, share all the fancy tools, and be full of amazing encouragement. Yet if clients donāt believe in my future vision for them, it will never happen for them. If they don’t believe that itās possible for them, they wonāt take the action necessary to become that future best self.Ā
Remember last week when we were talking about beliefs? Remember how beliefs are just thoughts we tell ourselves over and over until we think theyāre true? My biggest challenge as a coach is to get clients to BELIEVE something different than what theyāre currently believing. To suspend their current belief to dig into the possibility that a different future may exist for them.
What Can I do?Ā
While I can’t force clients to think or act differently there are some amazing things I can do that help tremendously. Here are things I can help with:
- I help you dig into their thoughts to see what theyāre thinking and how those current thoughts have created the life theyāre currently living.
- I introduce the power of the thought model and how, if we change our thoughts, we change our life. Literally. Our thoughtsĀ drive our emotions. Our emotions drive our actions and our actions lead to the results we see in our lives. The results we see ALWAYS lead back to the original thought and things we were telling ourselves.Ā Always.Ā This is the way our brain works, the way the world works.
- I help them question their current beliefs
If we think our life sucks, we look for ways in which our life sucks, we will always find evidence for what we look for. If we think our life is awesome, we look for ways in which our life is awesome, and we will always find evidence for what we look for. Intrigued? Here’s a good article on the Reticular Activating System that dives a bit deeper.Ā
A bit part of my job is helping clients expand their current belief systems. I help them question their current beliefs in order to see that their reality is a result of their prior thinkingĀ versus anything that’s happened in their life (and how this is a good thing). I can help you step back from what you think is evidence for why you canāt have your future life and instead look at your current state of your life as the effect of your prior thinking.Ā
What we look for we will find. #limitingbelief #brainhack Share on X
If we think itās not possible for us to lose weight, weāll look for evidence as to how itās not possible to lose weight. If we think itās not possible to have a connected loving relationship with our husband, we will look for ways that we canā have a close loving relationship with our husband.Ā
Graduate Level Thinking
Do you know I used to be a high school teacher? I have my masters in education and if I were to label this post with a class name it would be called the Advanced Mindset 202 Course and last week would have been titled Limiting Beliefs 201. If you missed that, go back and listen as itās important to understand limiting beliefs and have some awareness into where we were holding ourselves back with our own thinking of whatās possible for our lives (Plus, you always want to take the 201 before the 202 level class, lol!).
When we think something is all we deserve or all thatās possible for us, that becomes all that is possible for us, all that we are able to create. Weāre essentially allowing our thoughts to put bars on our own windows. Letās bust those down.
How do we start busting them down and instead opening the window of possibility? We get used to thinking bigger thoughts and we start dreaming a bit bigger.
This will feel uncomfortable. Thatās normal. Thatās called cognitive dissonance. Itās the space between what we currently believe (think over and over) and what weāre able to believe. This week Iād like you to put on your dreaming hat and get ready to go big.
Dream Big
Think of yourself one year from today: How do you want your life to be different? How do you want to feel differently?
Think of yourself 5 years from now: What do you want your life to be like? To feel like?
What is going to happen when you ask yourself these questions? Youāre going to discover some of those limiting beliefs (thoughts that youāre telling yourself as to whatās possible for you and your life.)Ā Iām asking you to ignore them for now. To suspend what you believe is reality.
Instead, dream! If you knew that everything will work out for you and your family, what do you want your life to be like in 5 years? In 10 years?Ā What happens when I start talking like this?Ā People start to slowly move away.Ā They say things like:
Susieās crazy.Ā
She doesnāt know my life.
Sheās not in my shoes.Ā
Itās possible for her but not for me.
She doesnāt have my mother.
She doesnāt have my husband.
Her situation is different.
She doesn’t get me
And yes warrior, you can choose to think those things. Yet…remember last week? If you think itās not possible for you, itās not. You are in charge of creating your future and your reality. My question for you is:
Why are you fighting for your limitations?
Why are you looking for excuses as to why you canāt live a life you love?Ā
If thereās a piece of you that would like to believe itās possible for you, keep reading because I know it is. I’ve worked with hundreds of women who have busted the bars off their windows of disbelief and now are living lives they love.Ā
Ā 4 Steps To Live AĀ LifeĀ You Love
Here are four steps to start feeling better and living that life I see is possible for you:Ā
1) Awareness:
Pay attention to what youāre telling yourself. What you tell yourself over and over is what you believe. Bring awareness to your current thoughts and beliefs by asking yourself the following:Ā What are you currently believing (telling yourself over and over)? About yourself? Your life? Remember, you get to believe whatever you want to believe.Ā
2) Dream:
What would a life I love look like? Feel like? Be like? Allow yourself time to suspend your inner critic and inner problem-finder to DREAM BIG. What does your best possible life look like in five years? 10 Years? What do you think I see for you? Shut down your inner critic and open up to your inner warrior. DREAM.
3) Kind Questioning:
Get curious in a kind way. Pretend youāre your own coach and start to investigate why youāre telling yourself what youāre telling yourself. Start to investigate where your thoughts are holding you back by asking some of these questions: Ā Why are you living the life youāre currently living? Why arenāt you living your dream vision of your life now? If you were telling a friend why youāre living the life youāre living, what would your explanation be? Why havenāt you lost that weight yet? Why donāt you get the sleep you need? Why isnāt your marriage fulfilling? Why isnāt your job fulfilling or meaningful? What does you inner warrior want for you? What are you telling yourself about why that life isnāt possible for you?
4) Belief Shifting:
In order to begin to believe differently we need to begin to change the thoughts we think over and over to get to the beliefs we defend. Once you find the thoughts youāre thinking that keep you doing what youāre doing, itās time to shift them. I like to think of a bridge and our current thought being on one side and our future self being on the other. We often need a thought to help us over that bridge to get to that new thought.
Let’s look at the example of weight loss. If youāve been trying to lose weight for a while, what do you tell yourself about your journey? That itās not possible for you? That everyone in your family struggles with weight? Those thoughts are on one side of the bridge. On the other side of the bridge is the thought: āI am losing weight and taking care of my body”. Yet, itās likely you don’t believe that thought yet. In order to cross that bridge, I encourage clients to add āIām thinking the thoughtā to the beginning of their thought on the one side of the bridge and āI look forward to thinkingā to the thought on the other side.
Eg: Iām thinking the thought that itās not possible for meā and āI look forward to thinking that I can have lasting weight changeā. Pay attention to the old thoughts youāre thinking, add one of the two beginnings to it, and start to shift your beliefs:
- I notice Iām thinking the thought
- I look forward to thinking
Whoās in Charge Warrior?
If you want to live a life that feels free and open and GREAT, you need to take over from your brainās automatic programming and make it happen. When doing these 4 steps, your brain will come up with excuses as to why your future isnāt possible for you. This is normal. Don’t listen. Shut it down. Re-read my post on the motivational triad. Our brains are designed to keep us alive and it does that by re-doing over and over what itās done in the past. Guess whoās in charge? You. Thatās what living consciously means. You direct your brain instead of letting your brain direct you. The people who step into the driver’s seat of their life are the ones who live lives they love. Lives that feel as good on the inside as they look on the outside. That’s what I see when I see you.Ā
Make It Easier
This is simple but not easy. It takes time. You can’t wave a magic wand and wake up a new person with new beliefs. There is a shortcut though. Get a coach. If you want to move through this faster, join FINDING JOY IN EVERYDAY LIFE (even if you’re tired, stressed, and have 400 things to do). It starts September 15th and enrollment is open now.
I am magical at helping people see the thoughts that are keeping them in their current struggle. I can give you a glimpse of that future possible self on the other side of the bridge and assist you as you move through the cognitive dissonance to get there. Together we rise, dear warrior! Sign up before September 1st for early bird special.
Hi Susie, I missed seeing you in person so much this week! I am binging (Is that spelled right? binge + ing) on your podcasts and loving them! Thank you for this avenue to be hugged and inspired and to continue our work when we aren’t face-to-face. Go Warriors! ~ Laura
Oh hooray! Thank you for letting me know you’re bingeing (binging?) on the podcasts – very healthy way to binge š Can’t wait to see your wonderful self!