Shift Your Self-Talk: Defining Your Through Line.
What is the common theme in everything you love? What is the common goal in everything you do?Those, my friends, are the building blocks of your THROUGH LINE. We're all equipped with a through line; something we're wonderful at and are meant to give to the world. And while some people might suggest mantras or affirmations, it's my firm belief that you can't shift your self-talk without finding your through line first.
Negative self-talk might sometimes seem like it pops up out of nowhere, but when you boil it down to basics, it's simply filler for uncertainty in purpose and imbalances in your mind, body and soul. With confidence in your purpose or through line, there's less of the negative talk that we use to sabotage ourselves.
We cannot succeed if we do not love what we DO - or if what we do does not fit into the big picture. Once we find our through line and shift our actions to deliver that through line, long-term success is inevitable.Notice the little things that fulfill you. Not necessarily the tasks themselves, but the meaning behind those tasks. Not so much the superficial What, but the hidden Why.[bctt tweet="Notice the little things that fulfill you. Not the superficial WHAT, but the hidden WHY." username="katiehorwitch"]You might have one through line or a couple. Here are two (and-a-half steps) to help you find yours:STEP 1: MAKE A LIST OF EVERYTHING YOU LOVE TO DO OR EXPERIENCE. I MEAN EVERYTHING. The things that you seem to get absorbed by and fill you up from the inside out. Don't worry about cohesiveness, list as many actions, experiences, and instances as you can think of. Cooking dinner, one-on-one time with friends, business strategy, binging on horror movies - it's all fair game.STEP 2: CAN YOU FIND A COMMON THEME IN THE MAJORITY OF YOUR ANSWERS? Try to find a mode and an output. Maybe not all the things you listed out fit together, but I'll bet good money on the fact that a lot of them DO. Look beyond the obvious - the fact that you love to bake and you love to have spontaneous dance parties might seem unrelated, but when you dig deeper you might realize what you actually love is the act of creating something that brightens up someone else's day. You love to bake - but when you're sharing your treats with friends. You love to have spontaneous dance parties because it makes your husband or boyfriend or kid or dog even fill up with joy and laughter. There's where your talents lie. That is your through line.Here's the optional half-step, if you're feeling curious: just for kicks, make another list of everything you excel at. No need to hold back here - remember, confidence is not synonymous with narcissism or vanity.Now highlight the things that you can recognize your through line in.Does this list seem familiar? It should. Many of the things we love to do are the things we have a natural knack for.Pretty cool, huh? These places are where you shine the brightest.~Need an example? Here's what the first two steps of my exercise looks like:Step 1: I love writing, interviewing others, singing, people watching, unfiltered and authentic conversations, listening to podcasts, music, running, teaching fitness classes, taking fitness classes, pretty much exercise of all kinds, yoga classes, acting, photography, singing and dancing at concerts, laughing out loud at movies, spending time with my family and soul-friends, reading non-fiction books or books written in the first person, public speaking, taking small chances, painting, drawing, playing board games that may or may not bring out my inner competitive Monica Gellar (where you at, Settlers of Catan).Step 2: In most all of the things I love, I can see that my through line is using my unique voice to its fullest to help others find theirs.But wait...how does this connect to playing Settlers of Catan or singing and dancing during Beyoncé's Formation tour???It goes back to my yoga practice, actually. I realized a long time ago that we learn best not from textbooks or bulletpointed protocols, but from each other. I used to practice amongst handstand junkies and power posers, and noticed that the people around them would get frustrated when they couldn't get upside down. So I did an experiment: what would happen if I took Child's Pose, a "resting" pose, in the classes where people were doing handstands, and I tried the more physically challenging poses even if I fell flat on my face in the classes where people shied away from things if they didn't look perfect?Lo and behold, people started taking Child's Pose instead of forcing themselves into handstands, and playfully experimenting when the teacher offered up a variation on the familiar. Because I gave myself permission to publicly do what worked for ME, others started to give themselves permission to do the same. I see my "voice" not only in talking or singing to teaching, but in writing, drawing - movement even. I get bored or frustrated when I am required to do things exactly like someone else. I love listening to podcasts and reading non-fiction or books written in the first person because they spark a discussion inside my head; I can almost hear my voice chiming in with the author or speaker. I love taking those discussions out into the "real world" and making my community like my very own unofficial book club or listening group. Learning new information isn't enough for me: I get high off of learning it, translating it, and discussing it in a broader yet at the same time more personal context. If I look closely, everything I love has my through line of "using my unique voice to its fullest to help others do the same" running through it. I stand for love - of others and yourself.Whenever I feel discontent or useless or squashed down and dull, I ask myself..."Katie, are you using your unique voice right now and is it resonating with the best parts of others?" If the answer is no, even if I can't fully escape the scenario that's bringing me down, I divert my attention and place myself in a scenario in which I CAN use my though line to its fullest potential, however big or small that might look from the outside.~It's easy to talk negatively about ourselves when we're in those bang-your-head-against-the-wall scenarios. And we've all got to deal with those throughout our lives no matter what. Sometimes, things just don't gel. But now that you know your through line, you can invest your time a bit more wisely. Go back and look at your list, see if you can identify a nuance of your through line, or a whole other through line altogether, that exists in your current situation...and try again. Trial and error is part of the deal. It's all about changing up the approach. I'm not saying that once you figure out how or where you shine the brightest, you'll always be shiny and sparkly. Life would be boring and useless without mistakes and missteps and those moments we feel the lowest of our lows. But if you're strategically placing yourself in scenarios in which you can use your through line - whether it be with a new group of friends, a new relationship, a new job or simply a potential hobby you're taking up - you'll also feel those highest highs a whole lot higher. Your life will feel a whole lot more cohesive, and you'll feel your purpose from the inside out.
WANT Yourself Action Plan:
In the comments section below, tell me what your through line is. How do you use it on a regular basis? Did you have an aha! moment that helped you realize what you were meant to give to the world?
Be as specific as possible - this is not an easy exercise, and your insight and experience might be exactly what someone else needs to read to realize the power they have within themselves.
WANT is a testament to the power of our pragmatically positive voice as a community and the impact we can have if we band together. Go for it, WANT peeps...
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a different version of this post originally appeared back in 2015 on WANT. see it here