There is one phrase that I have used probably most of my life.

“This is who I am now.”

Whenever I’ve had those moments where I felt like I want to be this next thing, I would say that phrase and say whatever “that” is, and that really helps me step into the power of being what that next thing is, what I want to be in the future.

For example, one of the big steps when I became an agency was to say “I am an agency owner now.” 

See how I didn’t include what I am not? I did not say “I am not a studio, I am an agency owner.” I just focused on what it is that I want to actually become.

This phrase really helps me to step into that essence of being that person from day one, and this one phrase is huge in getting to those next steps.

The essence of this is not waiting until you’re ready, its not waiting until you’re going to become this other thing.

Another example: there are certain things in my life where I’ll say “oh I’ll do that when I lose 10 lbs.” and in those moments I feel like you really need to check yourself, check what you are thinking in that moment and figure out what is actually holding you back.

I might say to myself that I’ll have really nice, curated clothes when I lose a certain amount of weight. Why am I not just becoming the person who has that curated wardrobe, that feels like they have a personal style, who feels great about what they’re wearing now?

What I’m really doing here is holding myself back from being there, so if I took my own advice in the above example I would just buy the cool clothes and start cultivating my personal style, and maybe I would lose weight because of that, but either way I would become that person that I envision myself becoming.

If you’re ever in that space where you’re feeling like you’ll do something when something else happens, I urge you to really think about this and reframe it and start to say “this is who I am now, I am a person with wonderful personal style, I love my wardrobe, I have wonderful pieces that make me feel amazing.”

I’ve used this one phrase and this way of thinking in grad school when I was watching all of these wonderful bloggers and wishing that I could do the same but felt like I was too busy just being in grad school and working a part-time job.

Then one day after thinking about this for probably six to eight months I just said “you know what, this is who I am now,” and I started a blog in one day, and I kept going because I became a blogger.

I decided to keep going and it was because it was who I was that I had to blog every weekday. Sometimes I even blogged two or three times a day, but a blogger is what I became and it all came about because I sat down and said “this is who I am now.”

And you know what? That blog eventually became Pinegate Road, which had led me to where I am today. All because of this one phrase.

It’s pretty crazy how by simply stating something and believing in yourself you can get to crazy big things that you never dreamed of.

One final thought: when you know you want to be this next thing but you’re not ready to say “this is who I am now” and became that thing, what might be popping up is your ego, that inner voice, that inner critic that tells you that you can’t deal with change, that wants to keep things consistent in your life. Your ego is that part of your being that wants to keep you very safe, so it will tell you that you can’t possibly be that thing that you want to be and it will put up a ton of resistance.

So how do you overcome your ego?

Use you inner guidance and coach yourself. Tell yourself that you know that this is scary and you know that stepping into this next space might be a leap and you’re not there yet, but by you stating today your intention and starting to become that thing you can allow your inner guidance to get into that next place, and quiet your ego.

p.s. people might laugh at you if you start telling them this tip, or maybe they’ll laugh with you, but if you go into this with confidence and know that yep, this is who you are now and you don’t make it a big deal, you might be surprised how quickly people get on board.