Your future self.
I recently made a major shift in the way I think about my business and it’s changing everything. I resented my business for so long. And I never felt it making my life better- only worse.
In January 2018 I decided to either close my business or change my life. And it took a while. And it took courage. And consistency. And dedication.
But it worked.
One large part of that shift was thinking from my future self instead of my present self. If I wanted to have a different outcome / life, I needed new thoughts that matched that dreamy future like:
I will have my dream team
No business is perfect
You’re never done
I love the middle.
Being new at something will always feel uncomfortable- lean into it.
instead of:
I will NEVER have a team I can trust.
I’ll never be perfect.
I just want to be done.
I hate the middle- I just want to get to the end.
I hate being new at things.
The person you are today is NOT the same person you will be when you drastically change your life’s circumstances.
The thoughts you have today have gotten you HERE.
The thoughts you need to get somewhere else are different.
It’s not time or money that you need to change. It’s your mind- which is good news because that’s always in your control.
How do you even begin to think from your future self?
Your future self making $10,000 , $100,000 or $1,000,000 a year from your business thinks very differently about money, time and energy.
Would they believe spending money on business is just not available to them?
I bet not.
Would they care if someone told them “No.”?
Definitely not.
Would they stay in confusion over which name to choose for a podcast or business or website?
Nope.
What decisions would your successful, future self make that you don’t make now?
What feelings would your successful, future self make that you don’t feel now?
What thoughts does your successful, future self have that you don’t have now?
Take your stubborn thoughts that we uncovered in last week’s post.
Think for a minute.
Would your $100,000-making-self have time for those thoughts? Really. Would she?!? I bet she wouldn’t.
But this is the thing. It’s hard to just snap out of a well-practiced (yet not-super-helpful) thought into one that is making you the money you want.
Here’s how you do it.
COACHING TOOL: THE THOUGHT LADDER.
Thinking a new thought will take practice, just like going from the couch to running a marathon will take consistent, gradual runs that get longer and longer for a period of time.
The Thought Ladder Tool is similar. Going from believing that you are someone who CANNOT live their dreams to someone who CAN will not happen overnight. It will be planned. Intentional. And require you stick with it.
Our training plan here is a ladder. We want to go from down here to up there. Where is down here? It’s the thought that’s not getting you where you want to go. Where’s up there? It’s the thought you WISH you could have about yourself. The one that your future self definitely believes about herself.
What is that thought?
Usually, we take the most problematic, stubborn one.
And we answer the question, “What would your successful, happy future self think instead?”
And our ladder? It will want to be shorter or longer depending on how much of a hold your thought has on you. You can’t move on to the next rung until you believe the thought you’re standing on.
I recommend having a 6-run ladder.
Here’s my example.
Rung 6: “I own my dream business.”
Rung 5: “I think I can maybe make my dreams come true here..”
Rung 4: “I have a business that’s pretty cool..”
Rung 3: “I have a business that sort of works.”
Rung 2: “I have a business.”
Rung 1: “I hate my business.”
Best Practices:
Intentionally start your day with this thought.
Choose one thought to practice per month. (go faster if you’ve mastered the thought)
Start with a neutral thought that feels believable (ie, it was pretty easy to believe that I am a person)
Don’t try to go too fast.
Whenever the thought pops into your head that you’re trying to change, notice it. Remind yourself that it’s not 100% true, that it’s just a thought.
Be kind and gentle to yourself. Negative motivation doesn’t work.
Write your new thought down somewhere so you can practice.
Don’t worry if it doesn’t feel amazing just yet. The point is to pry your brain slowly away from a thought it believes is true.
So, go on. Get in your DeLorean. I hear the future is fabulous.