CAN A PERSONAL MANIFESTO SUPPORT A MORE CONFIDENT SELF-IMAGE?
Can having a personal manifesto be helpful on the journey to becoming the confident CEO of your life? I think it can. In this blog article, I will be exploring how to create a brief, concise personal manifesto that supports a freely chosen helpful self-image.
WHAT IS A PERSONAL MANIFESTO?
A personal manifesto is not a resolution and it is not intended to be a list of affirmations.
Rather, it is a living document that you will think about, review, live, test, and edit over time. It is a reflective exercise that encourages us to think about who we are and what is important to us. It can also nudge us into thinking about the legacy we would like to leave behind.
That’s it in a nutshell.
BENEFITS OF HAVING A PERSONAL MANIFESTO
What are the benefits of having a personal manifesto?
-Having a brief but concise personal manifesto forces us to begin questioning or testing our beliefs. If we are not satisfied with our lives, chances are that a shift in our self-image is required.
-Having a simple manifesto in place can provide a touchpoint for when the going gets tough. That’s life, isn’t it? Sometimes the going gets tough.
BRIEF REVIEW
Before we move on to building a manifesto I am going to briefly touch on several concepts from the workbook/s.
- we never outperform our self-image (how we see ourselves, what we think we are capable of)
- our current beliefs and stated goals are intimately tied to our self-image
- our self-image was formed during times of vulnerability before we had the capacity to decide for ourselves.
- much of our identity was created for us before we had the ability to sift and sort incoming data or messaging.
- we often live by the standards, beliefs, and ideals that have been absorbed from our circle of influence and other authority figures.
- often what we think is important to us is simply a regurgitation of what we have learned to believe is important.
- the primitive mind (Bob) prefers an identity that is familiar.
- therefore, our daily lives, driven by a self-image, are often not aligned with our true potential.
MORE EMPOWERED CHOSEN IDENTITY
If the above line of reasoning is accurate, and I believe it is, then it stands to reason that we should be very interested in developing a self-image that serves us. The idea of becoming the confident CEO of our lives is an apt catchphrase for creating a more empowered self-image.
Remember, the thrust of this work is becoming
the confident CEO of our lives. This means we must learn to question what is
important to us. Is what we declare to be important, truly important or are
there some values, principles, and beliefs that we have simply absorbed without
question? The manifesto nudges us to question our beliefs and make some decisions about how we see ourselves.
Ultimately, we want to create a personal manifesto that supports the emergence of being the confident CEO of our lives. This is a chosen identity vs an adopted identity.
The very act of creating a personal manifesto is an exercise in curiosity and experimentation. We need to be curious and experiment in order to build a stronger belief in the self.
So don’t let your wife, husband, mother, father, friend, employer, or employee write your manifesto! Remember one of the CEO mindsets from the workbook is- consciously choosing new goals and beliefs rather than passively allowing others to foist their expectations on you.
CREATING A PERSONAL MANIFESTO TIPS
A. Choose one area of our life that requires adjustment. As you may know, I am a big advocate of small incremental growth that takes the learning needs of the primitive mind (Bob) into consideration.
For example-a specific pattern of thought, feeling or behavior around a specific area-career, relationship, health, finances, etc.-
Choose just ONE area and decide on a specific 3-month milestone.
B. Answer the following questions briefly and concisely so that reviewing them each day, you wan to set up a quick and simple routine. Remember this is a living document that can be refined over time, just start.
1. What will my life look and feel like when I have hit the milestone?
2. What specific belief do I need to have to reach this milestone?
3. What actions do I plan to take?
4. How will these actions help me build the self-image of being the confident CEO of my life?
That’s it.
Terri Lee Cooper MSc. RSW
