I keep my eye out for good self-reinvention techniques. You know, the little tactics we use to fine-tune ourselves, to keep us moving
more fully into our preferred selves. I call them my “joy tools.”
They get me out of ruts and unstuck so that I can remember I always have more options than I can imagine.
Well, I ran across a technique a couple weeks ago that knocked me over with its power. I call it “The You Power Strategy.”
It’s a twist on affirmations, those old gems where we say to ourselves, “Every day, in every way, I’m getting better and better.” It goes beyond afformations, where we turn an affirmation into a question, such as, “Why am I getting healthier and healthier now?”
Instead, the You Power statements aim at our identity, that collection of qualities we think of as “me.” Our identities are important to us; they describe to us who we are and how we act in the world.
We hold onto them for dear life. But they keep changing. New parts get added. Some old parts let go. And any feedback we can get about how we’re showing up is a definite help in keeping us on track and secure in who we’re being.
That’s what gives the You Power Strategy its power. It speaks to you about your identity. It mirrors the you that you aspire to be. And it’s as simple as replacing “I” with “You” in your affirmations: “You’re making more and more healthy choices now.”
For some reason, the idea intrigued me. I decided to take it for a test drive, to see where I ended up.
I made this huge list of things I wanted to express more fully in my life. I filled a whole page. Then, in the morning, I read them to myself. I read them a second morning, too. Then on the third day, I skipped them; it was too much to read first thing in the morning. And by bedtime, I was too tired to bother. Maybe you’re familiar with that kind of pattern.
Still, as the week wore on, I noticed one or another of the you statements floating into my head. I’d open the refrigerator and grab a healthy snack. I’d follow an impulse to work out with an exercise video. And I’d notice the thought, “You’re making healthier choices now,” float through my head.
If a mere two day trial was so clearly influencing me, why wasn’t I reading these statements every day? Because, I realized, there were too may of them. I should just pick, oh, maybe five of them. I could remember five and say them to myself before I got out of bed in the morning and maybe at night as I was drifting off to sleep.
Bingo! That worked for me. And to tell you the truth, I’m pleasantly amazed at how this little tool is keeping me on track. It’s almost as if the statements are a background navigator, gently pointing out opportunities to do what I genuinely wanted to do, to be the person I want to be.
I heartily invite you to give them a try. Think of five things you’d like to do or be. Write them down as “you” statements. Repeat them to yourself at the beginning or end of your day, or both. See what happens.
”You are discovering so many ways to be productive now.”
“You’re getting along better with Jim every day.”
“You’re taking more time to be in nature now.”
“You enjoy keeping your environment clean and organized.”
“You appreciate your friends and family more deeply all the time.”
Go ahead. Do it. Just think of five things . . .
Wishing you powerful surprises!
Warmly,
Susan