May 1, 2014
I am currently participating in the Martha Beck Life Coach Training certification program. As many of you know, I am a life-long learner and am doing this to not only hone my life-coaching skills (and learn Martha’s amazing coaching tools and processes along the way) but also for my own personal growth. A big piece of Martha’s program is for her students to go through our own personal development, using her tools and processes, so we can better help our clients. A few weeks ago, one of our class assignments was to create an “I believe” manifesto. The instructions were simple: set a timer for 5 minutes and write your response to the following sentence: “I believe_____.” After 5 minutes, put it away and let it sit for 24 hours before going back to edit it as necessary. The purpose of this is to get clear on the beliefs that are driving my own life as well as my business. I loved doing this and wanted to share it with all of you – perhaps to even inspire you to create your own manifesto. I ended up with 13 “I believe” statements so decided to title it “Andria’s Lucky 13 Manifesto”. For those of you who know me, most of these won’t be a surprise and for those who don’t, I hope it helps you get to know me better. I do my best to live by these statements and run my business in a manner that reflects them each day.
Andria’s Lucky 13 Manifesto:
1) I believe… Life should be filled with joy and inspiration. It should not feel arduous or exhausting. If it does, something needs to change.
2) I believe… Everyone has a right to what they believe. We are each unique and have a right to our unique beliefs.
3) I believe… Your thoughts and beliefs create your reality. We all have the power to create the life we desire. We simply need to align our thoughts and beliefs with the reality we desire.
4) I believe… Dreams can come true. Miracles happen. Nothing is impossible (unless you believe it’s impossible).
5) I believe… We should express and honor our passions and authenticity. You are here to be you. Honor that. Embrace it. Live it.
6) I believe… We get what we give. If you want more love, be more loving. If you want more fun, be fun. Whatever you want more of in your life can always be found by digging within first.
7) I believe… We can change our lives or anything about them. Don’t settle. Change what makes you unhappy.
8) I believe… Our parents did the best they could. There comes a time when we need to stop blaming them for our hardships and take responsibility for our own self-created chaos.
9) I believe… Self-care is the most important care there is. If you aren’t caring for yourself, you’ve got nothing to give to anyone or anything else.
10)I believe… We don’t “have to” do anything unless we “choose to”. You make time for and act on the things that are important to you.
11) I believe… In God. There are too many opportunities and blessings that happen in life that can only be explained by a power far greater than any human.
12) I believe… We create the life we live by the choices we make every day. If you want to live a different life, make different choices.
And last but not least:
13) I believe… No one should sit in traffic every day, unless of course, you choose to…
Now it’s your turn. What do you believe?
