Who are you becoming?
We love setting goals, making vision boards, and journaling about our ideal lifestyles. These activities have their place in lifestyle design, but the most important thing you can do to change your life is to change your identity.
One of the core questions we work on in Cultivate Club is “who are you becoming?”
Clarity around your emergent identity has the power to shape the many micro-decisions that we make in a day. It’s why people wear bracelets, “WWJD – What would Jesus do?” They don’t need to pre-plan all their actions. They simply check in and match their behavior with what they think their savior would do. If Jesus is your guy, that’s cool. Ben Franklin when practicing humility, set an intention to “Imitate Socrates and Jesus.” All he needed to do was bring those figures to mind to guide his actions and choices.
This is identity-based habit building (as James Clear put it). We practice this inside Cultivate Club in a few different ways. One is through the use of Alter Egos and the other is by working with Cultivation Mantras.
In this post, I’ll show you how to use Cultivation Mantras to shape your behavior. Download the free worksheet and follow along.
First, choose your focus. We use the Wheel of Life Assessment to take a look at different areas of our life (Body, Time, Money, Creativity, etc.) and focus on the areas that have the most room for improvement. If you’re in Cultivate Club with us, each month we turn our focus to one of twelve different themes. Example: Focus = Money
Second, get clear on what you want to cultivate in that area of your life. What do you want or need to get better at? How do you want to show up in the world? Example: I want to earn more money in my business.
Third, imagine someone who has cultivated this area of their life. How do they carry themselves? What skills do they have? What do they do differently than most people to be great in this area? Example: Madame C.J. Walker, the first self-made female millionaire in the U.S.
Fourth, then craft a Cultivation Mantra that captures the identity you wish to cultivate. Use the prompt, “I am someone who…” to declare your intentions. Example: I am someone who confidently makes sales offers.
Then write your Cultivation Mantra on a Post-It and display it prominently where you’ll see it every day. Make it a true mantra and recite it frequently. Internalize it. Allow it to shape your behavior and guide your choices.
This isn’t woo-woo magic or narcissistic grandiosity a-la “I am a billionaire.” This is practical, identity-based habit building.
Snap a photo of your written Cultivation Mantra and tag @joincultivateclub_ We can’t wait to see who you are becoming!
Want to learn more? This week at Free Friday, we’re going to talk more about this and you’ll have the chance to order a mantra bracelet from teen entrepreneur, Sarah Kahn of Ivory Moon Jewelry. R.S.V.P. here.
xo,
Patty