Years ago, I felt stuck in a low paying job that I detested, so I went to a career counselor. She told me to write about my ideal day; just one day in my life, if it were perfect. I wrote that I would have complete control of my time, doing work that I loved. I’d help individuals part of the day, lead groups part of the day, and write part of the day. I’d have a great life, in a house with a beautiful view, good friends, a loving husband, a red Volvo, and a cat. That might not seem farfetched to you, but at the time it felt like pure fantasy. I stuck that journal entry away in a drawer and forgot about it. Seven years later, I found it. Can you guess what happened? That’s right. The entire fantasy had come true!
Looking back, what I wrote as my “ideal day” was really my own “declaration of independence”. And it guided me to make choices that created my ideal life, even when I wasn’t aware of it! Much later, I learned why. While I had written in journals for years about what I didn’t want, this was the first time I had clearly defined (in writing) what I DID want! That’s why I use the same assignment with my clients, and why it works for them too.
The “Committee of Five” who drafted the Declaration of Independence courageously defined what they wanted for our country, and then claimed it as ours. It was a bold and powerful declaration! What if we all did that for our own lives? The truth is, we are all as free as we choose to be. What limits us is that we don’t define what we want and declare it as ours! Or if we DO define what we want, we don’t claim it by boldly writing it down, so we lose our desire, focus, or the belief that we can have it. Does any of that sound familiar?
if you feel stuck in any area of your life, I invite you to honor our forefathers by courageously declaring your own independence. Imagine complete freedom right now. You can be, do, or have anything you want! You have no constraints due to money, geography, talent, age, relationships, technology, or anything else. What would you declare as your ideal? What would you declare your independence from? Are you willing to claim it?