Three Simple Steps to Your Best Year Yet

Two weeks ago, we began the process of making 2009 your best year yet. If you are just joining us, you may find it useful to read two earlier posts where we introduced the Wheel of Life, and the role of imagination in creating significant improvement in your life experience.

We asked you to rate your current level of satisfaction in each of the spokes of the wheel, and then to imagine what life would be like if two or three key areas of your wheel were to improve next year.

This week we will focus on what may seem frivolous to some, yet something that my experience shows is, in fact, the single most important step in making meaningful change happen.

In a bit of over simplification, there are three parts to the "secrets" of success:

1. Know where you are heading
2. Imagine getting there
3. Do the work necessary

Step One: Know where you are going

Step 1 has to do with gaining clarity about what you want and why you want it. One of my favorite bits of country wisdom: if you don't know where you are going, any road will do. Using the Wheel can help clarify your areas of focus, and it's not enough. A critical piece to consider is why you want whatever it is that you have chosen as your object of focus.

Step Two: Imagine getting there

We started Step Two last week. Now I want to share with you a way to translate the power of imagination into practical, real world results.

For the skeptic in you, please consider this as something of an experiment. It is a fairly safe experiment in that nothing is going to explode and you risk virtually nothing by trying this out. However, it may seem a bit weird to you at first. So, if you don't mind learning by experimenting and you're ok with a bit of weird, here goes.

I am going to ask you to create a private, imaginary little film, one that you can "watch" in your mind's eye. The film will be pretty short - just a minute or so - and you will be the "star." In the film, you will see yourself succeeding in those two or three areas of improvement that you chose for 2009.

Once you "create" the film in your mind, you will then "watch" the film at least twice a day, once in the morning as soon as you wake up, and once in the evening just before you fall asleep. You can rerun the film as many times a day as you like, but you need to watch it at least twice, once in the morning and once in the evening.

Why am I asking you to do something as lame as watch a make believe film in your mind? Great question! The answer has to do with how the brain works. As you entertain a thought in your mind on a consistent basis, you will find that you will begin to notice things that support your focus.

If you have ever purchased a new car or one that is new to you, then you probably know the phenomenon. As you become increasingly clear about the type of car you want, even before you buy it, you "suddenly" begin to notice those kinds of cars on the road. It seems as though they are now all over the place. Of course, they were there before and you just didn't notice. Now, however, as you hold the image in your mind of that kind of car, your brain sorts the images that you see against a new "filter" - the new car - and you start to notice that kind of car.

Let's say you are not as fit as you might like to be. Start by creating an image, a mini-film, in your mind, seeing yourself as fit, enjoying being fit, and perhaps hearing positive comments from friends and family about what great shape you seem to be in,

Put as many positive details into the image as possible, and be sure to see yourself as already fit and definitely enjoying being fit. You can pretend you are watching this film on a TV set in your mind, on a large movie screen, or just about any other creative way you can imagine watching this mini-film inside your mind. Create the film as though it were a documentary, showing you already in a state of well being.

You may even find it helpful to put something like subtitles on the film, a kind of commentary on the process, something that could even be an affirmation. One that I like a lot comes from French psychotherapist, Emile Coue who wrote: "Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better."

You can use this simple affirmation or create one of your own. All you need to do is watch the film a couple of times a day, see the affirmation running like a subtitle, and perhaps even say it to yourself from time to time as you go through the day. If you do this seemingly goofy little exercise every day for a couple of weeks, you will probably find yourself noticing little things that you can do that will make a difference in your level of fitness.

You will begin to notice little choices that are available to you every day, and some part of you will start to gravitate toward making choices that will help you improve your level of health and fitness. That could be anywhere from better food choices to bits of exercise.

Just be sure to repeat the visualization and affirmation at least twice a day, every day, for at least 3-4 weeks.

Nothing is going to dramatically change tomorrow (unless, of course, it does)! We will share more tips on how to translate a positive focus into positive actions creating positive results.

Step Three: Do the work necessary

Over the next few weeks, we will translate the process into more defined goals and plans that you can exercise. For now, build increased clarity about areas you would like to improve and begin to hold positive images in your mind of those improvements having already taken place. Stay tuned!

***

You can find out more about Russell Bishop at http://www.lessonsinthekeyoflife.com. Contact Russell at: [e-mail]
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The author of Lessons in the Key of Life, Russell is an Educational Psychologist, professional life coach and management consultant, based in Santa Barbara California.

Comments

[lewes17266]

Russell Bishop,

Happy New Year.

It is nice that you respond to our comments.

[Russell Bishop - Huffpost Blogger]

Thanks, Lewes - I always enjoy seeing your thoughtful comments.

Blessings to you!

[OtayPanky]

From Russell Bishop's website: Format [for coaching]: one-on-one sessions, in person or by teleconference. Typically, coaching sessions take place twice monthly over a six or twelve month period with each session lasting 60-90
minutes. We will work together to create specific goals and plans for the coaching work following your preferences. I will support your accountability and success by monitoring progress on goals and action plans, creating recovery plans where necessary.

===

So we're talking 12 - 24 sessions. There's no fee schedule on the site, but I'm going to guesstimate it's $200/session, and that's probably a low ball.

So that means you're going to be "investing" $2400 - $4800 after tax dollars. Scaling up to a gross salary assuming 33% of income paid out as taxes, that would mean you needed to earn $3192 - $6384 to pay for this coaching service.

Like buying a McMansion, this all seemed to make some sort of sense prior to July. Because of easy credit and the housing boom (read bubble) the world was awash in money.

Those days are gone, folks. And not just for those who lost all their money with Bernie Madoff.

[Russell Bishop - Huffpost Blogger]

Okay, Otay. Given how thoughtful your commets generally tend to be, I'm a bit surprised at the lack of inquiry here. For starters, coaching is not a bubble thing - it may well be the difference fro some between limping along and making significant improvement. To be clear, no one needs a coach. Yet, many of those who succeed at the top of ther professions continue to use a coach.

Your coments only focus on money out, rather than value created. Absent of value, how could anything be worth the expenditure? How would someone know what the value might be for coaching? For starters, the individual who recognizes a gap between where they are now and where they might like to get would be the best judge of potential value. From there, many coaches, of which I am one, also recognize that it is hard to know if any particular coach will work for you - that's why many of us offer no charge initial session so the individual can determine for themselves if they like the coach and his/her approach. Of course, from there, why would someone continue if they weren't experiencing value?

A question to consider: what prompts you to write yoiur comments in the first place?

[OtayPanky]

I'll repeat to you what I say to someone else on the blog next door...although I'm sure you won't agree with it.

Life coaching - as a business - is a part of the problem, not part of the solution. Ditto most of what passes for therapy.

If we were living sanely, and not looking to monetize every damn thing under the sun, we'd recognize the obvious. Coaching and mentoring - and yes, healing and spiritual growth - is meant to be part of the warp and woof of a decent and humane society. All of these functions are essentially spiritual - in the broadest sense of that word.

Once a society begins charging money for spiritual help - it's farked. Don't just take my word for it. Those are the thoughts of the oldest book of wisdom in the world.

In our farked materialist society, those with bucks could shell out $200-300 per hour - or go see Tony Robbins at 10 grand or more a pop - or get a front seat at the ashram, or whatever. The rest...not so much.

And so, during this last gilded age, life coaches have proliferated like ragweed, living off a society awash in spare cash.

I''ll continue below.

[OtayPanky]

In addition - the societal impact of what I sometimes call the "oprahfication" of society - where we are taught to rely upon so-called experts (like Dr. Phil!) is a net negative.

There is something terribly wrong when people are taught to go ask for direction from without rather than finding it organically from within.

Want examples? The HuffPo LIVING pages are full of 'em: Four tips for better sex, or more love, or doing well at work, or getting rid of your zits. One blogger has recently written a serious column advising people on the importance of making one's bed, in order to be happy.

As Ambrose Bierce dryly observed - advice is the cheapest common coin.

The big picture result is entrancement, not liberation. It's no different when it comes from the pulpit of an evangelical church, telling people how to live their lives - or a secular coach like you.

Even though your work (and the pastor's) is meant to be empowering, the net net is that it is DIS-empowering to society at large.

The fact that the system (in this case the coaching/therapy system) infantilizes rather than liberates should be no great surprise. We see the same perverse effects in many social systems - such as the welfare system - or the methadone maintenance system.

The principle behind it all is well discussed in the General Theory of Systemantics: Systems tend to produce results contrary to those intended.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systemantics

[mespace]

Step 1. Start living every day, today. Not "starting in 2009." Step 2. Decide what the biggest problems in your life are. Correct them. Step 3. Decide what the biggest LITTLE problems are that keep you from being happy every day are. Correct them. http://mespace.wordpress.com/