action plan Archives - Holly Boxenhorn

Your New BFF

by Holly Boxenhorn | Dec 2, 2021 | Blog

Dear Future Me…

Want to boost your mood, improve your outlook on life, pinpoint where your greatest efforts might be served, and create some accountability along the way. Imagine your future self! Picture yourself, thriving and living a full, happy life. Researchers call this your BPS-Best Possible Self and study after study say it packs a powerful punch.

Personally, I’m a big fan of this exercise. For so many of us in midlife who question what’s next and where to go from here, it’s a simple yet highly informative way to start fleshing out a new path leading the way into the second half of our lives.

Getting To Know Your Future Self

Carve out undistracted time – find a place where you’ll have limited to no interruptions.
Select a time in your future – anywhere between one year from now to no more than five.
Spend a few moments visualizing your best future self, consider your –
Personal Life including your interests, hobbies, health preferences, and any accomplishments you’d like to go after. Professional Success this includes your career and job, what brings you a sense of purpose, any educational pursuits, your income bracket, and what you’d like for your retirement. Social Life your romantic or dating life, the friends you seek and keep, your relationship with your family, and any regular social activities.
Describe your future self at that time – imagine you’ve invested the time and energy to actualize your best self. What does your life look like? What are you doing personally, professionally, and socially? How do you feel? Think? Experience Life?

Note: It’s important to remember that the purpose of this exercise is not to visualize your greatest fantasy, but rather your best possible, attainable future.

From this identity you can then start to take action. Asking yourself what would my future best self do right now in this moment. This way of thinking can help you restructure your priorities and serve as a roadmap. So that when you wake up first thing in the morning and throughout your day your BPS can now be your BFF encouraging you to align with those actions that you know support your end game.

With the new year around the corner, this is a perfect exercise to take advantage of so you can hit the ground running in 2022!

Wishing You The Best Of Success

-Holly-

2020…Setting The Stage!

by Holly Boxenhorn | Jan 1, 2020 | Blog

The Power Of Visualization

Alright everyone…here we are, HELLO 2020! So what’s it gonna be this year? Though I’m not a big fan of new year resolutions, I am a huge advocate for setting the stage and believe immensely in the power of positive visualization. In fact every morning, upon awakening I take the first 15 minutes of my day to envision the next 24 hours. Literally, going hour by hour, imagining and designing action steps that align with how I want to show up and experience the day. Naturally, some days are harder then others. But the second part of this two step visualization process-designing the action steps of the day-give me the clarity and direction I need to build in the greatest likelihood for success. Of course, there are plenty of days when I’m feeling more overwhelmed or rather uninspired by what lies ahead. But make no mistake the power of suggestion goes a long way, it is now a well known fact that we stimulate the same brain regions when we visualize an action and when we actually perform that same action. Brain studies have shown that positive mental imagery “primes” our brains for success.

On a bigger level, every new year I take pen to paper and return to one of my most trusted practices I learned back in 2010 when I was first just a student at iPEC (Institute of Professional Excellence in Coaching) pursuing my coaching certification. It is a visualization exercise in which I imagine it is one year from now (Dec 31, 2020) and what I aspire for is actually occurring. I then proceed to consider all aspects of my life; personal development, career, health/wellness, intimate/social/professional relationships, parenting, fun/enjoyment, even spiritual wellbeing and paint a picture of what I like to see. Essentially, I design a vision that is exciting, purposeful and fulfilling, one that I find inspiring. I ask myself:

What am I doing? (In all the above stated aspects of life)
With whom am I doing it with?
What am I feeling?
How much income am I earning?
How much fun am I having?
What difference am I making, personally and professionally, in the world?

Ultimately, using this exercise to create a vision of what I aspire to be, feel, and experience in the new coming year. This process, of seeing and even feeling a new improved self in all aspects of my life allows me to then develop life objectives that support this vision, helping me break it all down into specific goals that lead me to my desired destination by years end. This exercise has become one of the most favored amongst my clients, not only promoting clarity in their goal setting but accountability as we use it as a tool to check in with to help them stay on track and develop necessary action plans and task driven work in order they be able to obtain what it is they want in and for their lives.

The most important thing to remember when doing this exercise is that not everything is written in stone, there needs to be some level of flexibility, however, not at the risk of losing sight of our vision. Remember, there is never an end state to self-development, greater success and happiness is always a work in progress but without a vision it is very hard to find direction. As the most revered book states “Where There Is No Vision The People Perish.” PROVERBS 29:18

Wishing Everyone A Very Happy New Year

-Holly-

Where And Who You Are Now

by Holly Boxenhorn | Dec 1, 2019 | Blog

The Power In Acceptance

For many, December is a month of reflection. As we end the year and begin to contemplate new year resolutions, it’s a perfect time to surrender to the discipline of acceptance. Without acceptance we are only fighting or denying what is, making it almost impossible to behave proactively and move forward to create the change we seek in the coming year.

It’s important not to confuse acceptance with resignation. Resignation is an act of giving up of our control, quitting, or succumbing to less than desirable outcomes. Whereas acceptance is more about gaining control and increasing the likelihood for more optimal results through embracing what actually is, in order to better assist ourselves with the understanding of what really needs to be addressed.

So before we can create the change we desire for the coming year we must first accept where we are now. Grab some paper and pen and start considering how you spent this past year, what did you accomplish that you are proud of and where may have you fallen short. Let’s explore the highs and lows, celebrations and shortcomings to find the lessons to be learned from all our experiences, positive and negative and move forward with a renewed conviction in this new coming year.

Ask Yourself:

What were the most significant events (good or ugly) of the year past? (List the top 3)
What did you accomplish? (List wins and achievements)
What were your disappointments? ( Regarding yourself )
What were your biggest challenges/roadblocks/difficulties?
What did you learn? (skills, knowledge, awareness, etc)
What would you do differently? Why?
What do you feel especially good about? What was your greatest contribution?
What were the fun things you did? What were the not-so-fun?
How are you different this year than last?

Let these reflections inform your plans for the new year. Say good-bye to 2019. Give thanks for the learning and usefulness this year has brought and welcome in 2020 with your eyes wide open and ready to move forward!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

-Holly-

Jumpstart Your New Year

by Holly Boxenhorn | Dec 2, 2018 | Blog

Your 2019 Priorities

Wow, it’s hard to believe another year is almost in the books! Time to do some reflecting and planning. I know everyone is likely crazy busy with holiday prep and festivities. But that’s all the more reason to find some downtime to grab a cup of tea or a glass of wine, set yourself up in a comfortable environment where you will feel relaxed and focused to do this month’s suggested activity. It is a twist on a coaching tool shared in past newsletters and found on my website under Valuable Downloads, called the Wheel of Life. But this time rather then rate your level of satisfaction in each of the provided aspects on the wheel, I want you to now draw your own wheel, divide it up into 6 even pie-like slices and determine those areas YOU want to focus on for the next year (see image attached).

Some examples might be: finances, romantic relationship, renovating/organizing a house, writing a book, health and exercise, career, paying it forward, family, creativity, fun/enjoyment, etc. Then from there write 5 measurable and obtainable goals you can accomplish under each category. So for example, under creativity one might write: take an art class from a local university. Or for paying it forward: volunteer at local animal shelter or maybe donate clothing no longer worn. You get the picture, just be specific and make sure you can see results at the end of the year.

This exercise was recently introduced to me through a colleague. He came across it in a book called Reboot Your Life: Energize Your Career and Life by Taking a Break. The book goes on to suggest selecting one goal from each category that is most important for you to accomplish and start first with those. I love this activity mostly because it can really help create the change we want in our lives and bring it back to harmony and balance by providing a focus on our priorities (not others) while serving as a great reference tool to keep us accountable. Keep in mind it’s not about attaining everything in our circle but more about honoring what it is we want to see happen in and for our lives in the next coming year and then having that down in black and white. This way we not only have a jumpstart to the new year but a plan to boot with actionable steps in place!

Best of Success & HappyHolidays!