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Declare Your DreamUh-oh, it's that time of year again, time to pull those old New Year's resolutions out of
the desk drawer (hmmm, let's see, they're in here somewhere.) and dust them off for another run at self-improvement. There's a reason why all those articles in the popular press list the same top resolutions year in and year out: lose weight, make more money, be a better person: it's hard to make such big changes, even harder when you're starting all over again. What if this year it was different? What if you started with a clear vision of who and how you will be? What if you declare yourself to be that person already? Because surely
you do carry inside you the seeds of that future you; everything you can become already lies within. Imagine how different it would feel: "This year I want to make more money" vs. "This year I am a person who is a success in my chosen field." There's a distinction to explore here, a subtle one to be sure, the distinction between resolutions and declarations. The dictionary tells us that a resolution is a resolving to
do something, a course of action determined or decided on. So far, so good. A declaration takes it one very big step further: an explicit, formal announcement. A declaration is a "speech act," an expression of commitment by the speaker to make something happen that was not there before. As such, it carries power that a resolution does not have on its own. By speaking (or writing) your intentions to the world, you commit to becoming someone
new and somehow different than before. You step into your future self and take on a new way of being in the world. Although you can certainly choose to keep your declaration to yourself, as many people do with their New Year's resolutions, by writing it down, or speaking it aloud, you breathe life into your dream of who you are becoming. By declaring it before others, you take your commitment to a new and
higher level, and enlist the aid of others in holding you to your commitment. Recently, I participated in a discussion about stepping into a bigger life, and I think that's connected to the idea of making a declaration about your future self. The point was made that if what you are aiming for doesn't make you go "Gulp!" then you aren't aiming high enough. You're living a smaller life, and denying your dreams of a much
bigger future for yourself. So it's an act of profound courage to declare your dream today, and to begin to live into it now. For leaders, the act of declaration is key to moving others to action, and it is one of the most powerful tools at your disposal. A well-crafted declaration paints a picture of the future that everyone in the organization wants to move toward, and it can become the
touchstone to which you return in times of stress or uncertainty. It creates a new reality in the present as everyone strives to be the person they need to become to realize that shared dream of the future. So many abstract goals for the future are actually ways of being that are available to us all in this moment; think of "health", or "success", or even "peace" or "justice." The role of a leader is to be the one who
articulates the declaration and who keeps the dream before everyone's eyes. If each person can see himself in that dream, he will be able to live it and to live into it. Let's talk about your desired future and how coaching can support you in making your own powerful declaration to make it happen. Call (410)626-6008, or email info@bloomfieldassociates.com.
As you begin this New Year, reflect on what you want to bring about in your
personal and professional life. What declaration can you make that will paint a vivid picture of the future you? How can you change the way you are living or being now so that you are more in sync with the declaration you have made? What big stretch does your declaration demand of you? Finally, what is within you that wants to be called upon to realize your declaration? What gift or talent have you been hiding or underutilizing that
could help you live into your dream of the future? |
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A recent international study found that many corporate executives do not want to become CEOs because it offers a low work/life balance. In North America and Europe, 64% and 60% of respondents respectively said they would turn down a CEO offer.
About 70% of senior executives and managers say they recall at least one time that they wish they had been given a second chance and were not, based on a nationwide survey. Almost 70% of all complaints on ethics hot lines are HR-related, according to one prominent national labor law and employment law firm. 
Multi-minding On beyond multi-tasking, today's busy professional women are multi-minding, "constantly thinking about and preparing for the myriad dimensions in their complex lives," according to a recent survey of the impact of advertising on women by public relations firm Ketchum. 
 Start Where You Are, by Pema Chodron. What I like about it: This isn't a new book, but it's an old favorite, and I'm dipping into it now for the third or
fourth time. A guide to the Buddhist practice of compassionate living, it offers a common-sense approach to using life's difficulties to awakening our own hearts.
Beth Bloomfield
Executive Coach, Strategy Consultant
Principal, Bloomfield Associates  Million Dollar Networking, by Andrea Nierenberg. What I like about it: The author, who also publishes a monthly newsletter on tips for
networking, provides great tips for "finding, growing and keeping your business." She advocates and lives and breathes follow-up.
Alyce Mayo
Director, Special Programs and Stewardship
Baruch College Share what you're into - books, articles, movies, music, websites - with others on the list! Send us the title and author or other pertinent information, along with a sentence or two on what you like about it, and if we use it in A Different Optic we'll not only quote you, we'll provide a link to you or your website. |
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"How do I know what I think, until I hear what I say?"
- E. M. Forster | |
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Time is running out to register for the next running of Beth Bloomfield's popular teleclinic "Build Your Executive Coaching Practice" that will get started January 19. What better way to jumpstart your business for 2006 than to sign up now for this comprehensive and practical course - and it's a great value! As one past participant put it: "This course was
personally validating, realistic, and supportive. Beth is a generous role model and teacher. Her standards are high for the profession of coaching and I would recommend her without qualification." Click here for specific details and a link to online registration. If you want to know more now, please contact Beth at (410) 626-6008.
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