Becoming the “new you”
Who do you need to be, to get to where you want to go?
You know when it’s time to move on.
You may have felt for a while that you’ve outgrown your look, your hobbies, the things you used to enjoy doing at work or with friends.
You may be visualising a new life for a better you, as you enter the next chapter of your life. You may sense that this “new self” is who you were meant to be.
But having realised that, how do you get there?
Depending who “new you” is, it may take some work – it’s not like you can magic tons of money, a new career, or new look and wardrobe instantly.
Especially if it’s something you’ve been thinking of for a while but hasn’t been possible yet, and it’s now feeling a lot more urgent. What do you do then?
They say whatever got you to where you are now, isn’t what will get you to the next level.
Just like at work, getting tasks done well is great in your early career, but it’s no longer enough as you move up the ladder. Once you’re management it’s less about doing, and more about strategy and leadership skills. You make new connections and possibly need a new wardrobe.
A shift like this requires you to almost be a new person.
The gap between who you are now, and who you need to become in order to achieve your big goals is what my coach Marie calls your “personal curriculum”.
If an employee is to become a leader, they’ll need to learn strategic thinking, networking, team management. But also perhaps managing their impostor syndrome, or anxiety, or loneliness, as being a manager means you’re no longer one of your old team.
This isn’t only true about work promotions, it’s true about everything.
If you’re planning on going next level with any area of your life, what skills will you need to learn, what mindsets to embody? How will you need to show up for yourself and others everyday?
When thinking about this, I sometimes find it easier to step into a persona. The same way children might decide to be a pirate or a princess for the day, I get to be “rich me” or “slim me” for a while.
If Rich Me had loads of money in the bank, would she focus more time on investing or stressing about small purchases?
Would Leader Me turn up late and grumpy at work after a bad commute, or making it all look easy while spreading good vibes in the office?
Would Slim Me, who is yoga-fit in her 50s, stress-eat crisps as a snack?
You get the idea.
There is a lot of fun in doing this. Trying on your New You persona helps you realise what you need to work on specifically. But more importantly, it helps you see immediate results.
As soon as you change your energy, your outlook and your daily habits, you set a change in motion. If you start doing things you’ve not done before, people react differently. You even feel different within your own body.
It’s like “fake it till you make it” only without the fake part, it’s more about using your imagination. I find it less uncomfortable, and more expensive.
Rather than feeling like a fake, you feel like a better you.
It doesn’t guarantee magic results, but it gets you going in the right direction.
So make list of your own curriculum – who do you need to be, to get to where you want to go? Then, go on and step into New You.
