Your Earth, Wind and Fire To-Do List
Get your WINS out in the open, where they belong!
Have you ever had one of those weeks? You know, where everything just seems to go exactly as you want it to? Or even better, your expectations are wildly exceeded?
I LIVE for weeks like that.
Lately, I'm finding that the more in alignment I am with my BIG Vision, and the more action I'm taking to bring me closer to it, the more often the scales tip in favor of me having those kind of weeks. Nice correlation, right?
The thing I love most about this, though, is that during those other moments when things are maybe a little same-old-same-old, boring, or even discouraging, I'm remembering to use my WINS in life as a motivator to keep me on track towards my BIG Vision.
My clients are using this as a motivation tool too. In fact, I incorporated it into my free Motivation Roadmap for the Rebel Professional© download because it's such a helpful tactic. (You can find that here if you haven't downloaded it yet...)
Recently, I recommended to one of my clients that she write down a list of as many WINS in her life as she could think of to help with some lagging motivation she was experiencing. The list would consist of times when she's felt proud of herself, or someone's given her a great compliment for something, or maybe an opportunity she took to stretch her boundaries past her comfort level and succeeded; anything that she could think of that when she looked back on it would remind her of just how AWESOME she can be.
What's interesting about this exercise is that it was actually really tricky for my client to come up with her list because she was too modest to identify any big WINS in her life.
We're kind of programmed as human beings to be humble and modest right?
So it's really easy to deflect compliments and praise in the moment. The problem with that, is that when we downplay those moments of praise and admiration, and don't allow the magnitude of those compliments to really sink in, we continue on through life believing we're just average.
But in reality, we're ALL AWESOME.
I've made a habit of doing it myself too. People would congratulate me on various accomplishments, like planning and facilitating a great event in my corporate career, or completing a triathlon, or moving to Colorado on a leap of faith, but I just deflected those compliments thinking, "oh, that thing was no big deal". It wasn't until just recently that I've really taken some time to sit back and examine my WINS in life, and the energy and dedication it actually took for me to achieve them, that I've really been able to understand what these people saw in me.
And let me tell you, the best part about doing that exercise for myself, and for my clients, has been that it provides the ability to use those WINS as solid evidence that success is not only possible but INEVITABLE.
So here's your mission for this week:
List Your Wins!
- Set aside 10 minutes to make a list of your accomplishments in life
- Even if it feels unnatural or like you're tempted to say, "but I don't have any", we ALL have something in life to be proud of, so think hard about it and find them
- I want you to come up with at least THREE and document ONE in the comments below; DECLARE your WINS out in the world so we can all sit in awe of your greatness!
- (No, seriously. Do this.)
- Then, whenever your motivation is lagging, refer back to your list of WINS as an indicator of your track record for successful behavior
I promise that even if this exercise feels tricky and uncomfortable to begin with, the end result will help springboard your confidence to new heights. And if you need a little push in the right direction, think about booking a free A to B Strategy Session with me to help get you clear on all the greatness that really awaits you.
In the immortal words of Earth, Wind and Fire, "You're a shining star, no matter who you are, shining bright to see, what you can truly be." (Yes, I just went there.)
With love and inspiration (and a BIG, exciting win to document on my list today),
-Amy