We are officially 6 months into the year, this calls for some serious self-reflection!
Our first Work Wednesday will consist of
working on ourselves. Reflections are the most important way to track your
progress! Depending on how serious you are about improving your life, you need
to be honest with yourself. Often times, we just need some one on one time with
ourselves. Here are a few questions you can ask yourself to reveal the
underlining truth. You can also email your responses to me at
dnaseem11@gmail.com and I can give you my reflection based on your answers. I
do not claim to be an expert but I do know quite a bit about being confident
and allowing yourself to change what you don't want and grow on what you love
about yourself. I studied counseling/social change and sociology in college and
hope I can take what I learned about people and how they interact/communicate and combine it with my own life experience to help identify your main dilemmas and begin to break away from the things
that are holding you back.
These questions are to help you identify what you feel needs
the most improvement and for me to help you in the best way I can. I will ask a
general question and provide a description that will help you understand why it
is important to identify these things. Some questions are a description in
themselves so there's no need for me to put an add-on. With that said, let’s
get started!
1)
What is your favorite physical feature? (It is important to focus on the good
because it allows you to identify a starting point to begin building your
confidence...I've always said it is easier to finish a paper once you are
satisfied with the topic sentence).
2)
What is your least favorite physical feature? (This is not based on what you
think other people find unappealing, it is your own thoughts on your least
favorite feature...so look deep within).
3)
Why do you think your confidence isn't where you want it to be? Is it solely
based on your inner feelings or are there outside factors that come into play?
(Think hard about why you aren't happy with your current self).
4) Do
you think you can be where you want to be and maintain a newly found
confidence? (This question is to get an idea of how committed you are in the
process).
5)
Are you comfortable with what you identify as in terms of sexual
orientation? (If you can identify this in less than 2 seconds, it
proves a certain level confidence and shows that you are sure about who you
are).
6) I
want you to think hard about what your deepest desires are. What do you crave
and want to unleash during this process?
7)
Let’s talk emotions! Are you allowing emotions to control you? In other terms,
are you an "emotional do-er"; do you eat based on how you're feeling,
do you make decisions based on emotions or act out because your heart is taking
over rather than your brain?
8)
List your 6 month goals. Make sure they are obtainable and realistic
goals. You do not want to set a bar too high for yourself because
realistically, you will disappoint yourself thinking it is never possible to
achieve anything if you don't meet one of these goals. I believe anyone can
accomplish anything in a short period of time if they commit to it. However, I
want you to be honest with yourself and make sure that once you have these goals
written down, you will commit 100% to achieving them in the time period you
set. After writing these goals down in FULL descriptive detail (for instance,
if it's a weight goal I want you to put your current weight along with your
desired weight and include what you will do to get there), how will it feel if
you accomplished each and every one of these goals? Also, what are some of the
perceived obstacles you think will keep you from accomplishing these
goals? Yes, this question will take some time but it is well worth
it.
9)
DUN DUN DUN! Religion. It is a touchy subject but something that greatly
contributes to your confidence because it is how you define a big part of
yourself. This question can either be really simple to answer or it can stop
you dead in your tracks. What religion do you identify with? If none, then just
say what your general beliefs are (eg: if you are a spiritual person or you
never paid any mind to a certain believe, explain this). And finally, if you
have always believed something but aren't sure about it anymore, talk about
your relationship with God or why you no longer feel committed to the religion.
This is important to understand because it is part of an uncertainty or
certainty in your life. In my experience, being unsure about how to identify
something in your life throws you completely off balance and you begin to
question other areas in your life which causes you to see what isn't there. As
a result, you begin to lose confidence in yourself.
10)
Borrowing the idea from an intelligent mind Patti Dobrowolski, we will now
become artists...so to speak. Here is an exercise that will ensure some visual
motivation. I want you to draw what you are currently feeling. Draw the things
you are unhappy about in your life (this doesn't have to be perfect, STICK
FIGURES ARE ALLOWED). Take a look at the results and put it off to the
side. Now draw what your dream life looks like in your mind; draw out
everything you want to see happen in your life with great detail. This picture
will motivate you in more ways than one. It will help you visualize your goals
and motivate you to pursue them. Look at the pictures side by side, are
you prepared to make these great improvements in your life? Are you prepared
for a journey that will change your life!? (If you want to watch Patti
Dobrowolski's Ted talk as inspiration just type this into YouTube: "Draw
your future Patti Dobrowolski TEDxRainier" or click this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zESeeaFDVSw ).
**I
would love to see some of these pictures!
I
hope this exercise can help you uncover what is stopping you from enjoying the
new you! If anything, it will get you thinking about what it is that you really
want for yourself and your life.
