Since the fireworks heralded in the new year, my social media newsfeed has been filled with ‘New Year, New You’ posts.
I’m sure you know the kinds of posts I’m talking about…
The one’s where they tell you how bad you were last year, and how you need to do everything differently this year.
I don’t know about you, but they make me cringe and don’t have me feeling super positive.
I was scrolling through Instagram yesterday, and saw this:
New Year, New You #overit
Finally, someone who gets it!
There is no such thing as NEW YOU!
You are the same person today, as you were on the 1st January, as you were in the last week of December.
Thinking of yourself as different people can really start to mess with your head, and have you beating yourself up un-necessarily. I’ve never met an entrepreneur yet, who isn’t competitive. That’s how we rise to the occasion and do what we do on a daily basis.
Let me explain what I mean.
A few years back, I had a marriage breakdown which ended in divorce. Apart from the obvious of now having no relationship, I now also sported low self worth and confidence, messy finances and had also lost two of my businesses.
Fast forward four years, and I was at a dinner and was talking with a fellow entrepreneur. We were talking about our previous businesses (yes, serial entrepreneurs have had multiple), and I said this little sentence…
“In my old life when I was successful….”
Right then and there he said “Stop. It wasn’t your old life. It’s a part of your current life.”
I had a massive epiphany that I had made the separation of “successful” and “now, not doing as well as I’d like” as two separate people. I was walking around every single day thinking of the “successful” person as someone different. But in actual fact, not only was I the same person, but now I had the capacity to be even more successful, as I had a tonne more learnings to carry forward.
I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with re-evaluating your life and your business. In actual fact, I thoroughly recommend doing it at least every 90 days. Instead of making crazy resolutions which are almost impossible to keep, try this on for size:
1. What were my wins over the past 90 days?
2. What didn’t work so well over the past 90 days?
3. What are my learnings from those things that didn’t go so well?
4. What will I focus on in the next 90 days?
So here’s what I’d love to share with you.
Screw, New You.
A few tweaks to the “old you” is great, because if you’re reading this, I know you are always striving to be even better.
But you don’t need a New You.
Embrace the good, the bad and the ugly – in actual fact, the whole story is what people resonate with.
The whole story is what makes you unique. This is the story which creates your authentic message, and what makes you relatable to your ideal client. The things you learnt on your journey is why a potential client would choose to be a part your tribe.
This is your brand!
So what’s the story you are going to share with the world?
I’d love you to let me know below… is there something that’s happened in your life that can help others through a challenge or dark patch?
