As you get settled into your week, take some time to reflect on the week ahead of you. What will make you feel amazing? Speak it out loud. And, then go do THAT. It’s what I wish for you
The Power of Your Voice
We’ve heard a lot in the news lately about people speaking up for what they believe. We can’t get away from it. Maria Shriver spoke passionately about this in her Sunday Paper. Madisyn Taylor spoke about it thoughtfully in her column in Daily OM. I believe it’s an important subject too, which is why I dedicate a segment of my workshop on Finding Your Voice, and Chapter 16 in my upcoming book, Upside Down to Right Side Up: Turning Transition into Triumph.
Speaking out loud what you want or what you believe can be powerful. Your voice can convey every emotion. It can be strong with conviction, and it can quiver with uncertainty. The response you receive could be supportive or sabotaging. What do you want?
I believe you always benefit from learning to use your voice so it supports you in the best way. Speak from a place of certainty and your voice will never waver. This is especially hard, though, when emotions are running high, which is often the case when you’re going through major changes in your life.
Get Grounded in What You Believe
Your core values is a great place to start to gain control over your voice. What do you believe in? What do you stand for? Have you been compromising your values for a long time—in a relationship, at work, or both—to keep the peace?
I share an activity with my clients that helps them focus on their Top 5 Core Life Values, so they can use them as a checkpoint for every choice or decision they must make. We role play a personal situation and help them see how bouncing any choice up against each of the top five values makes their decision easier. When decisions are grounded in values, they become a no-brainer.
Create Your Roadmap
The next step is to get crystal clear about what you want. When you go on a road trip, do you wing it? Or, do you map it out so you know where you’re going—you have a clear destination in mind? It’s the same thing with life. You could wing it or you could map it out based on where you want to end up. It’s a vision. Your vision. In brilliant and glorious detail. It honors your values and becomes your motivation to move forward.
When your Values support you and your Vision mobilizes you, your Voice speaks volumes. You can use your voice to declare what you believe and what you want, with courage and confidence. Think about this:
Your mind is a garden;
your thoughts are the seeds.
You can grow flowers, or you can grow weeds.
What grows in your garden?
What do you want to harvest? I’d love to see your vision in the comments below.