Are You Ready For the ‘New’ You?
by Zoe Routh
Do you want more from yourself? Do you want more from your life? And are you ready for it? Chances are you do want more. Chances are you know what that might look like too – more money, more freedom, more love, more goofing off at the beach, more canoodling on the couch, more romantic dinners, more business success…
But are you ready? Truly ready? Perhaps not. If you’ve been hanging on to a ‘dream’ for more than six months, you’re not ready.
Not that you aren’t capable, but the ego part of you wants to keep you just where you are. The go part of you is terrified of change. Change is scary. Change is uncomfortable. Change is full of unknowns.
Your personal gremlin, aka your ego, abhors change and will feed your inner soul all sorts of rubbish about why it’s not ok to change. And then enact cruel self-sabotage tricks.
Ever had one of those out-of-control cravings where you’re reaching for the chocolate and your conscious mind is screaming ‘noooooo!’ but something takes over on auto-pilot, you gulp down an entire Lindt block and then you slink away, leaving that guilty chocolate trail behind you?
Yup – gremlins. And they are very powerful.
I’ve had all sorts of gremlins jumping out at me this past week as I near my goal weight – the closest I’ve been in twenty years. Overcoming cookie fantasies has become a physical struggle. Why now, after ten weeks of near-perfect execution of nutrition and exercise?
It’s all about being ready for the new Me. The new Me that wears figure-hugging skirts, the new Me that can prance in a bikini without awkward bulges, the new Me that can handle admiring (and envious) glances. It’s scary stuff.
And my clients experience the same kind of terror with their own personal transformation goals:
- Becoming a competent presenter means risking rejection and judgments of others;
- Starting a new consutlancy business means risking letting people down and losing face;
- Following through on a public speaking career means risking failure and financial ruin.
The gremlins have a field day with these kinds of fear running riot!
So how do you deal with the gremlins?
You show them that the change is going to be OK.
And how do you do that?
Rehearse.
But not just rehearse; rehearse with feelings. Like you really mean it.
Here’s what to do:
Write out the picture of you and your new life or new business. Put all the exquisite detail you can into it, with strong emphasis on how good it feels.
Write this all in present tense (gremlins respond well to present tense descriptions). Use sensory rich descriptions – what you see yourself doing, what you hear yourself saying, what others are saying to you, and most importantly how you feel, where you feel it in your body.
Read and rehearse this picture three times a day for thirty days. Add in some powerful feel good affirmations, and you are on doing some serious rehearsing that feels good (that’s the real secret ingredient).
Here’s what happens:
Your gremlins will start to link your new goal with feeling good, with feeling excited, and so they will be in absolute support of it.
You will come to feel and believe you are already that new You; it’s only a matter of time before the physical world catches up with what you’ve already decided and become on the inside.
And that’s how you navigate your life from the inside out, in the direction you choose.Your gremlins will be right there with you, this time keeping the boat on track, rather than sneaking command of the wheel.
With love and appreciation.
Leadership Coach, Speaker, and Author Zoe Routh works with women in business to enhance their personal effectiveness and leadership capacity for global effect. For free tips on how to become a more effective leader that will save you time, money, energy, and stress, go to http://www.innercompass.com.au
