What makes you feel complete? What feeds your soul? What makes your heart skip a beat? Who are you when you feel truly alive?

Most people never bother asking themselves these questions. They’re so busy racing through life that they don’t live it. They’re too focused on everyday life and don’t think enough about the choices they have to make.  Human being tends, in general, running after his life instead of living it, hearing the voices of “saboteurs” (That inner voice that tells you: You can’t do it, you’re not good enough, you can do it later, you don’t deserve it) focussing into the past or the future. It is frequently found breathless – I name that the stress pattern!

I hear you say that you have goals, and at the same time you also face many challenges. You also know that when certain problems arise, sometime you will feel stuck.

How and why do you connect to the best in yourself? While you may initially operate in reactive mode (automatic pilot), try to activate your proactive mode by making conscious choices that honour your values. Operating in proactive mode always increases your effectiveness.  Here are two “proactive mode” exercises that may deepen your reflection and increase your efficiency:

1. Identification and definition of your values
2. Discovery of your inner leader (i.e. your inner captain or your best self) and your inner team

1.   Identify, clarify and make a list of your basic, core values (e.g. family, friendship, respect, tolerance, honesty, authenticity, loyalty, cooperation, commitment, compassion, forgiveness, pleasure, harmony, etc.). Your values give you access to your best self, otherwise known as your inner leader.

Definition of human values: Human values inspire your thoughts and actions and express who you really are in this moment. These intangible principles to which you attribute such great importance are not “something” that you have, that you do, or that you want, like a trip, money or other possessions. People often confuse human values with moral or ethical values when, in fact, they’re quite different. You don’t choose your values; your values are you. They are as unique as your iris. When you honour your values, you immediately feel a sense of well-being and authenticity because your values are part of your core essence. They are the wellspring from which you can find answers to big questions like: What really matters to me?

For your convenience, you can use different perspectives:

• Reliving experience (cyclo-challenge, fundraising, climbing, marathon …) What are the values ​​hidden in his experience?
• Identify values ​​suppressed (what makes us frustrated or angry). The opposite of these “bad values” will lead you to your true values.
• Invisible values: it is “in your nature” to be generous, respectful. If you do not see them, ask one or two people who know you well, to help you recognize them.

2.   Discovery of your inner leader (i.e. your inner captain or your best self) and your inner team.

Now let’s explore your proactive mode even further by having you create your inner team, i.e. the personification of your strengths and talents; it’s just you or rather, your best you!

As the captain of your inner team, you must choose to make your resources work for you.  How do you see your captain and team members? Here are a few thoughts to guide you:

The captain: that’s you, your inner leader, that visionary who is always at the helm and who can tap into every aspect of your being in order to get you to fully express the purpose of your life.

Your captain’s values:

•  Wisdom: your captain has always been with you and knows how to keep you on the right path.
• Caring: your captain loves you completely and unconditionally.
• Certitude and clarity: your captain has total faith in you and will defeat all saboteurs.
• Courage: your captain is intrepid and will never fail to do what’s best for you.
• Other values you’d like to add: …

Your team: a personification of your strengths and talents.

• The connaisseur: learns from and finds value in everything that happens without judgement
• The curious cat: an adventurer who can’t wait to explore everything life has to offer.
• The go-getter: inspires you to act and to learn, and knows when to be proactive or reactive.
• The self-sufficient manager: knows when to say yes or no and reminds you what really matters.
• The clairvoyant: gives you access to a wealth of knowledge through your 6th sense.
• The comic: a self-deprecating soul who knows how to lighten things up.
• Other team members you’ve discovered: …

Personifying your team gives you greater access to your own strengths and talents. Let your imagination goes. Why not put your concept image? For example pictures representing each member, or record voice your captain and your crew – all is possible!

The next time you have to make a decision or set goals, picture the solution from their perspective. Your choices will be more conscious and in keeping with your values and you will find yourself operating in a proactive mode that offers the perfect balance of “being and doing”.

You owe it to yourself to slow down so you can make more conscious choices that will generate better results in both your professional and personal life. So use those inner resources: they’re inexhaustible and self-renewing!

What do you think of this article?

Christine Lecavalier