The Power of Self-Leadership

It was groundhog’s day yesterday.

And if anyone has seen the movie with the same name, you’ll know that Bill Murray has to relive the same day over and over until he learns some life-lessons. It’s a great movie. Go watch it.

He was forced to live the same day over.

It sounds farfetched, but reality hits closer to home.

How similar is your routine each day?

Wake up, kids, work, lunch, work, home, family, sleep, repeat.

It’s like we are reliving our own groundhog's day.

We’ve all experienced a time when we felt stuck in a routine or pattern that was not aligned with our ideal self.

Being in a rut can look like this:

• Indecision
• Low motivation
• Same routine day after day
• Unhappiness with your current state
• Constant daydreaming of another life

This sucks.

What is lacking which could kick us out of this rut and into awesomeness?

Put simply: Self-Leadership.

Self-leadership means owning your life like you would an organization.

Great businesses have vision, a mission, goals, and actions to achieve those goals.

And like a business, effective humans also have a vision, mission, goals, and planned actions.

You are the leader of your life.

Today, I’ll teach you how to leverage self-leadership to kick you out of a rut and get on track to crushing it.

Leadership vs. Self-Leadership

First, let’s get clear on terms.

To “lead” has two assumptions: you are going somewhere, and you have at least one person following you there.

So, a leader is a person who has followers and is moving toward an envisioned destination. Cool.

But how can you lead yourself? Can you be a leader of one?

Yes, and that is because there are 3 versions of you:

1. The Self
2. The Ideal
3. The Opponent

Let’s work backwards. The Opponent is the version of you who is negative. It is the fear-ridden inner critic who tries to keep you safe. It does so by whispering things in your ear like:

“Who do you think you are?”

“Don’t do that, you can get hurt.”

“Everyone is going to think you’re an idiot.”

This version of you is always present, and his/her job is to keep you safe.

This version is what holds us back.

Then there is The Ideal. The Ideal is the version of self you dream of becoming. This future version of you shows up in your mind whispering things like:

“You can do it”

“You were meant to do this.”

“Everything is going to be fine.”

I have written a lot lately on this topic of fear, the Ideal, etc. You can check out more on these two versions of self here.

Then there is The Self. This is the version of you now, as you are, sitting in the middle of these two voices and choosing who to listen to.

In a nutshell, The Self is who you are now. The Ideal is who you are striving to become. The Opponent is the enemy you are fighting against.

To achieve effective self-leadership, we need to define and embody The Ideal and lead The Self toward that end.

So how do we do this?

With the following steps:

Step 1: Envision The Ideal

This is all about creating a vision. If you are in a rut, then you are surely dreaming about another life… A better version of yourself.

Envision that life. Create clarity on the “what” in your future life.

What are you doing?

What do you look like?

What do you feel like?

What are you striving for?

What kind of work are you doing?

What are your relationships like?

Create as much clarity as you can regarding the “what.”

Step 2: Create Fuel for Action

This is all about creating meaning behind the mission. This is where you identify your “why.”

First define where you are now. This creates a clear starting point on this journey.

Why do you want to change?

Why do you need to change?

The consider all the positive and negative implications of your change effort.

What will happen if you do not change?

If you don’t take action, how will you become The Opponent?

Who else will benefit from you becoming The Ideal?

It is important you build emotional triggers in this experience. Notice what feels good and what does not. Can you conjure these feelings at a moment’s notice?

As you lead yourself to a better future, you will run into obstacles and challenges.

Emotions serve as fuel for continuing action.

Speaking of actions, that is the next step.

Step 3: Build the Plan

You know where you are and where you want to go.

Start breaking down this big vision into small actionable steps.

Is health a part of your future?

What changes to your eating and exercise plan are required?

Want a more impactful career?

What skills do you need to learn? What strengths do you need to lean into? What kinds of work do you need to avoid?

Set irrational goals and create rational steps.

While you must create a to-do list, also create a not-to-do list. What current behaviors do you have that are working against The Ideal?

Once you are clear on the steps, it’s time for step 4.

Step 4: Take Massive Action

Tony Robbins made this statement popular. And for good reason.

Growth only happens when we take action.

Want faster growth? Take massive action.

Grant Cardone wrote a whole book on this called The 10x Rule. If you think you have to make 10 sales calls, better make it 100. If you think you need to connect with 100 people, better reach out to 1000.

The progress you make is directly related to the volume of actions you take.

While taking action, you should not expect to feel motivated all the time.

It is important to create a set of minimal actions you can take regardless of your motivation. This is your minimum viable approach.

Track your actions using a calendar or some other method. I use this goal tracker. Whatever you do, stay consistent with your MVA.

The Wrap Up

We need you.

More specifically, we need the ideal version of yourself.

Envision The Ideal.

Create emotional fuel.

Build an action plan.

Take massive action.

Lead yourself first. And crush it!

Clark