Creating the Real You

Hey everybody! This post concludes our February series, The Imaginary You: Finding and Becoming the Real You. We have talked about how we see ourselves, accepting ourselves as we are, and accepting who we want to be. Today we’re pulling it all together with creating that person you want to be.

Your Imagination

The imagination is a powerful tool. It sees things that are not reality but can be made into reality. Here’s one example how I used my imagination to help me become someone new.

An Example

I pictured myself as a professional writer, someone who wrote every day and made a living off of it. I saw myself sitting in a clean, light-filled office. I had plenty of counter space around me and a computer in front of me. My walls were decorated modestly so they wouldn’t be distracting. My papers were organized on my desk and the office contained anything I might need in creating a book: a file cabinet for all my ideas, a printer, a soft chair in the corner to be comfortable while I edited my work or did some reading, shelves of books to create a “writer” feel to the room. I would literally sit and imagine out new things in my office and pretend I was sitting at that desk working. I imagined what it felt like to wake up in the morning with nothing before me but working on the next chapter of my book, knowing I had a fan base waiting to read it.

Before I knew it, I was rearranging my real room where I worked, cleaning and organizing it as best as I could to give it the same feel of the office in my imagination. Even though it was far from exact, when I sat down at my little writing table in reality, I had the same feelings as I had as a professional writer in my imagination.

I still practice seeing myself as a professional writer. These pictures in my head pulled me from insecurity as a person and as a writer and put me in a new place. I’m living out those thoughts in my head.

Your Turn

Take some time to picture yourself as that person you want to be. Whether it’s a specific goal you’re trying to reach, such as being an architect or beauty consultant, or being a happier person or being more friendly, picture yourself doing that thing. If you don’t know how to picture it, google “happiness” or “architect” and see what you find in Google Images. Maybe print out a picture or two and put it up in your room to help you imagine yourself the way you want to be. Your thoughts will eventually become part of you and make you a new person.

This is not an overnight thing. Keep at it. It does make a difference! Notice how your feelings change and become lighter as you think about happy things, as you see yourself becoming whatever it is you want to be. The real you begins as the imaginary version of you. Then from your imagination it enters reality. Your mind starts to believe whatever you think about yourself, and your actions follow accordingly.

If you have any tips on what has helped you to find and become the real you, leave them in the comments. Also, if you have any goals or dreams you would like to share, let me know so I can cheer you on. You can leave a comment, tweet me @EdinanRoman, or visit me on Facebook at One Lady of Shalott. Thanks so much for reading!

Next week: March means a new topic. I have something fun for you that you won’t want to miss! In March I’ll be traveling around town, showing you places and people that have inspired me during the writing of my series Mint Julep Adventures. You’ll get to meet some of my friends here, learn how they inspired me, and get a mini-tour of some great shops they own downtown (because a lot of my friends happen to be business owners :) ). I’ll see you back here next week!

Accepting Who You Want to Be

Hello, everyone. Hope you had a good week! Today we are talking about accepting who you want to be. Last week we learned the truth about ourselves, the good and the bad. Now, we’re going to focus on the good.

Who do you want to be?

Read that question again. Who do you want to be? I was a depressing, complaining sort of person, once upon a time, but that’s not who I wanted to be. I wanted to be a writer who influenced others for good, a happy person that others wanted to be around. But I couldn’t get there by continuing to call myself “depressed,” “lonely,” “a loser.” Words have power, and I wanted to leverage that power to my benefit.

Write down who you want to be.

One great way to bring words out of your head and into reality is to write them down. Speaking is also very powerful and perfectly acceptable. For me, it was hard to stand in front of a mirror and say, “I am wonderful,” because I had such a low opinion of myself. But I could do something as simple as write down “I want to be a great writer,” “I am a great writer.”

I still have the notebook where I practiced using words to reprogram how I thought of myself.

I found inspiration everywhere, even the children’s book Harriet the Spy, which I had never read until three years ago. At the bottom of the page of quotes I took from Harriet the Spy, I wrote, “Hmm, when did I stop being a writer? When did I stop imagining?

You may recall a time when you were a much more vibrant person. Well, that person is still in there. You can become that person again.

Take time today to write down or speak out who you want to be. Is there some dream you never fulfilled? Do you wonder how your life would turn out if you were to pursue that dream? Do you want to be happier, healthier, enjoy life more? Write it all down, or use some other method that works for you. Then remind yourself every day of who you want to be. Accept that you CAN be that person.

Next week, we’ll finish this month’s topic with talking about how to use your imagination to become who you want to be. That negative person we imagined ourselves into being is about to be replace with a better version of ourselves. We’ll created a different kind of image for ourselves. The “imaginary you” -- what you imagine about yourself -- whether good or bad, becomes the real you. Don’t miss our last week in this series. See you right back here next week!

Next week: Creating the Real You (our final post in the series The Imaginary You: Finding and Becoming the Real You)