By Debbie Peterson of Getting to Clarity – Midlife Mindset Mentor for Women, Professional Speaker and Trainer; providing clarity around Identity, Purpose and Confidence.
I remember when I was a little girl I used to tell myself stories. Often times I would act them out and that would be days of play until the next story came along. The theme of these stories I would tell and play out were of what I wanted for myself when I “grew up”. They were full of desire and potential.
As an adult, often stories aren’t about desire and potential; they’re about limitations. You’ll hear yourself say “What’s her story?” or you’ll think of your life as your story but what you need to know is that you are more than that story and you have the ability to write your next chapter the way you want.
Who are the main characters in your story? Why are they important to your story? Do you spend time on them during your story?
Recently, I did a retrospective exercise where I broke my life down into 5 year increments and listed the fondest memories for each time period and each of them was tied to my family. I knew that my family was important but I discovered how important when I did that exercise and know absolutely they are main characters in my story.
Here’s the question though, how do I spend more time on my main characters when I’ve got so much going on writing my “next chapter?” I’m out of town – a lot and I spend a great deal of time on my business because it is my passion to help women get clarity on their Identity and Purpose with Confidence. So where do I get the time? The answer is where I can. I call, Snapchat, FaceTime and this this past month I took a vacation with them and spent some precious time with them on the water. I felt connected and so grateful for having a whole uninterrupted week.
Exercise:
- Break down your life into 5 year increments.
- What is your fondest memory for each 5 year period?
- Who or What was most important to you? Do you see a pattern?
- How can you spend time incorporating that into your next chapter?
Writing YOUR Next Chapter can mean a lot of things and is individual to you. It could be ramping up your career or changing careers. Perhaps it is starting a business. It could be about retirement or just getting clarity around who you want to be.
Take what you discovered in the exercise; who and what is important to you and make sure that you find ways to incorporate that into writing YOUR Next Chapter. This time its about desire, potential and what is meaningful to you and the choices you get to make moving forward. Consider Who and What is most important to you when you choose.
Until next time, here’s wishing you the Clarity you deserve!
Deb
P.S. I love to share ways for women to build their confidence but first they need to be aware of what they may do without knowing it. Click HERE for the Top 5 Confidence Killers.
