Who Do You Think You Are: Four Strategies for Self-Awareness

Ask a woman to describe who she is and you'll often hear her describe herself in terms of her current title or role (wife, mother, daughter, etc.) or career (manager, accountant, nurse, etc.).  Come on, we're so much more than that!
 
When it comes to self-awareness, we're our own expert!  Being clear about who you are, what you want, and why you want it, empowers you to consciously and actively make those wants a reality.  We can't rely on our spouse, family, work and society to tell us who we are!  What we need is a clear direction; a feel for our own true north.  Armed with that awareness, it suddenly becomes easier to side-step the drama, steer clear of the confusion, and step through your fear to the life you were meant to live.  

We’ve found these four strategies especially helpful to the self-awareness process:

1. Know your purpose: Wandering through life hoping you'll stumble upon health, happiness and prosperity leaves too much to chance.  Where does your true self want to go in life? What legacy do you want to leave behind?  Where do you want to make a difference?  If it's been a while since you've put any thought into what your purpose is for your life, it might take some time to tune in once again. Your true "purpose" resides in your soul and to discover yours you need not only intellectual contemplation but a connection with your intuitive self as well. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.  Tap into your personal power, pick a direction that represents genuine happiness, and move toward it.

2. Know your passions: What would life be without our passions?  And yet, we find that many women toss their passionate pursuits aside, wrongly believing they are not important.  It's amazing what we let come between us and our dreams.  If you've always wondered what it would be like, not to wait around for the good things in life to come to you, but to actually go out and get what you want out of life, focusing on your passions is the first step in that process.  As we like to say, our passions run deep.  Stop waiting for "someday" and make your "someday" today.

3. Honor your strengths: Have you ever wished for a super power?  Maybe the ability to leap tall buildings or become instantly invisible would come in handy?  Well each of us possesses talents and strengths unique to us that allow us to contribute something special to the world.  We tend to take these abilities for granted but it's time to start thinking of your strengths and talents as your own super powers!
 

An amazing resource for identifying your core strengths is Tom Rath's book, StrengthsFinder 2.0.  A life-changing book for us, it was amazingly powerful to see our unique abilities on paper, allowing us to put into words what we could before only sense and feel, let alone explain.  Pick up a copy and discover your strengths!  It will change your perspective in a big way! 

4. Write a mission: Businesses do it all the time and for good reason.  Something truly powerful happens when you put your purpose into writing.  Suddenly doors open to you and opportunities just show up.  Where there was once struggle and never-ending challenge, now there seems to be a shift in energy and things flow easily and effortlessly.  Putting pen to paper focuses your subconscious in a specific and targeted direction, declaring to the universe your desires and ultimate goal.  Nothing screams authenticity like putting your mission in writing.

Kim,

Sister of Soul 

Soulspiration of the Week:

“Our job in this lifetime is not to shape ourselves into some ideal we imagine we ought to be, but to find out who we already are and become it.”  ~Steven Pressfield

Who Do You Think You Are?

Who are you? It’s such a simple question, and yet at the same time so complicated. As women we’re influenced by the media, society, mentors, parents, friends and spouses. We conform and adapt to be accepted, promoted, liked, loved, and admired. But peel away the layers of what others want us to be, and who are we then?

Consider the story of the eagle who thought he was a chicken…

A naturalist was visiting a farmer one day and was surprised to see a beautiful eagle in the farmer’s chicken coop. "Why in the world have you got this eagle living in with the chickens?"

"Well,” answered the farmer, “I found him when he was little and raised him in there with the chickens. He doesn’t know any better, he thinks he is a chicken."

The naturalist was dumbfounded. The eagle was pecking the grain and drinking from the watering can. The eagle kept his eyes on the ground and strutted around in circles, looking every inch a big, over-sized chicken. "Doesn’t he ever try to spread his wings and fly out of there?" asked the naturalist.

"No, said the farmer, and I doubt he ever will, he doesn’t know what it means to fly."

The naturalist persuaded the farmer to let him take the eagle out and do a few experiments with him, even though the farmer made it clear he thought the naturalist was wasting his time.

First, the naturalist lifted the bird to the top of the chicken coop fence and said "Fly!" He pushed the reluctant bird off the fence and it fell to the ground in a pile of dusty feathers. Next, the undaunted researcher took the ruffled eagle to the farmer’s hay loft and spread its wings before tossing it high in the air with the command "FLY!" The frightened bird shrieked and fell ungraciously to the barn-yard where it resumed pecking the ground in search of its dinner. The naturalist again picked up the eagle and decided to give it one more chance in a more appropriate environment, away from the bad examples of chicken lifestyle.

He set the docile bird on the front seat of his pickup truck and headed for the highest butte in the country. After a lengthy and sweaty climb to the crest, with the bird tucked under his arm, he spoke gently to the golden bird. "Friend, you were born to soar. It is better that you die here today on the rocks below than live the rest of your life being a chicken in a pen, gawked at and out of your element."

Having said these final words, he lifted the eagle up and once more commanded it to "FLY!" He tossed it out in space and this time, much to his relief, the eagle opened his seven-foot wingspan and flew gracefully into the sky. It slowly climbed in ever higher spirals, riding unseen thermals of hot air until it disappeared into the glare of the morning sun.

So, who do you think you are? Are you living life true to yourself? Or, are you living life based on the perceptions, expectations, beliefs, and/or desires of others? This story is a wonderful parable for how we live life unaware of who we really are, and instead settle for living life based on the lives we see others leading, or worse, what others want us to be.

Thankfully it doesn’t have to take a life-threatening situation like a push off a cliff to make us realize who we are, our true desires, or our calling in life. It just takes awareness and a little detective work, and our upcoming tele-training event is just the thing to get you started! We would love to introduce you to someone truly amazing…The real YOU!

Self-Aware: Discover the Real You

Monday, May 9, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. (CST)

The Soulspring Tele-Classroom*

It’s FREE*! We invite you to be our guest!

*Long distance phone charges apply where applicable.

You will receive your tele-classroom access code and training materials via email prior to the training call.

REGISTER FOR “SELF-AWARE: DISCOVER THE REAL YOU” TODAY!

Kim,

Sister of Soul

Soulspiration of the Week:
“Only by much searching and mining are gold and diamonds obtained, and man can find every truth connected with his being if he will dig deep into the mine of his soul.”  ~James Allen