Key #4: Declare What You Want. And Feel It.
“Think and feel yourself there! To achieve any aim in life, you need to project the end-result. Think of the elation, the satisfaction, the joy! Carrying the ecstatic feeling will bring the desired goal into view.” – Grace Speare
When you’re in an unsatisfactory situation at work, you may find yourself thinking a lot about what you don’t want. You could be thinking about your heavy workload, unpleasant colleagues, lack of autonomy, lack of opportunities or anything else that is bothering you.
That kind of negative thinking can easily lead you into the trap of making your situation worse. The more you think of what you don’t want, the more you’ll notice it. For example, if I’m thinking that I don’t want my colleagues to insult me, I will likely notice every insult they dish out. But if I think that I want people to appreciate me, I may be able to notice even subtle signs of appreciation.
So your assignment today is to shift your thinking to the positive side and feel the effects. Once you start thinking about what you want, you’ll be alert to new opportunities to create what you’re looking for, whether within your current situation or in a future position.
So, what do you want?
Start with the passion, the joy and the feelings you want. What makes you jump out of bed in the morning? What gives you a surge of energy? What supports you and nurtures you? What do you want to see, hear and feel?
Then start to flesh out your vision with the practicalities. Include all the basics such as industry, position, location and income. Include what’s important to you on the softer side, such as company culture, relationships, leadership styles, values and opportunities. Be as specific as you can. Refer to your list of what’s wrong and what’s missing from your current situation and make sure you include their opposites in your list.
If you’re not sure what you want in a certain aspect, identify everything that is important to you on that point. For example, if you are open to re-locating for the right kind of position, write down whatever criteria you have about the new location. Even if you say you would move ‘anywhere’, that may not be completely true. Declare whatever criteria you have.
You don’t need to know every detail about your next position. Just identify what’s important and then you can be open to discovering the many ways that your criteria can be met within this wide world we live in. The most important parts are what you feel most strongly, as those feelings and images will guide you to your desires.
Write it in the present tense to help you visualize what you want.
Declare what you want by writing it down. Be as specific as you can. In my ideal position, I live in …, I earn …, my boss is …, I manage/lead/analyze etc.
Make this an ongoing list that you can build on and improve as you learn more about what you want.
Tomorrow we’ll explain one more shift in thinking to change your perspective on you and your ideal job.
“The achievement of your goal is assured the moment you commit yourself to it.” – Mack R. Douglas