Be the author of your story
Write down your ambitions and create a blueprint for your future, says our writing columnist, author and coach Jackee Holder
WHEN I LIST MY GOALS, I’m surprised by how often I hit the jackpot – like the first time I penned that I wanted to write a book. Months later, I got talking to the woman in front of me in a queue, who just happened to be the commissioning editor of a major publishing house and had my book proposal on her desk! Writing and sending out my proposal magnetised my goal from scattered thoughts swirling around my head to an action that was concrete and tangible. Neuroscientists refer to this as encoding.
Lately, career mapping has been high on the agenda of many coaching calls with clients. During the process, people make comments such as ‘I feel better now that it’s out of my head and on the page’ or ‘it’s not as difficult as I thought it would be’. Those remarks kick in when clients write down the actions that will move them from the now to the future. Using the prompt ‘I am…’ they record actions in writing as if they have already been taken and then say them out loud.
Give the fantasy form
Scientists call this generation effect – a phenomenon where information is better remembered if it is generated from one’s own mind rather than simpy read. The act of writing means your right brain and left brain work together, activating a whole brain approach to manifesting a goal. Boost the impact of writing and set new neural pathways with images and illustrations that add colour to your goal. Still with me?
When you take authorship of an ambition, you shorten the distance between a dream and a goal that has a greater chance of being actualised. A Harvard Business School study explored this, and the MBA students who wrote down their goals earned 10 times more than those who did not.
Don’t leave 2021 to chance. Writing is something you can control during periods of change and uncertainty. If you do anything as this year ends, give yourself this gift of seeding on the page and time to reflect as you write a map of desired action for the year ahead.
Jackee is a writer, coach and creative: jackeeholder.com; @jackeeholderglobal
Session one
Jo* had specifically requested phone coaching instead of video calls. Although I usually like to see my clients, it was a relief that I didn’t have to tidy my office background or think about my hair, make-up and clothes. Jo explained her reasons for wanting phone coaching in our first call: ‘I dread the daily round of video calls. I am an introvert and, for so many reasons, virtual meetings are exhausting for me – they drain my energy. I always find social occasions difficult and, in face-to-face situations, I have developed strategies to get some quiet time alone, but online there is no escape. Sometimes, I make excuses that my internet connection is poor, but I can’t keep doing that and I am sure people know the real reason I am saying that.’
I asked Jo if this was why she wanted coaching – to help her find strategies to cope with working in a virtual world?
Jo was quiet for a while before she answered, ‘Well, kind of… but it’s specifically about all the online Christmas parties and events. I work in a highly social industry and, although I work behind the scenes in accounts, I am expected to attend the parties. A couple of the gatherings are fancy dress – a nightmare for me! I know it probably sounds ridiculous to you, but the thought of a work Christmas do online gives me terrible anxiety.’
I gave Jo homework to do before our next call – to draw two circles on a piece of paper, one inside the other. In the inner circle, she should write all the things over which she had control or influence in this situation. In the outer circle, she should write all the things over which she had no control.