Coaching practices for Possible Selves in a New Job
Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Possible Selves in a New Job, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.
Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?
- The future I want for myself feels so out of reach that part of me has filed it under "people like me don’t get there"
- I’m still grinding toward a version of "successful me" I dreamed up years ago, and it’s stopped lighting me up
- I’ve got this clear, vivid picture of the person I want to become, and I love daydreaming about them
- The inspiring vision of who I want to be gets me fired up for a day or two and then quietly fades
- I keep running this other life in my head, imagining how amazing or how awful it would be, but it’s all guesswork
Practices that may help
- Possible Selves, Made Practical
Hazel Markus’s possible-selves framework holds that motivation is driven not only by who we are now but by vivid mental representations of who we could become — including hoped-for and feared future selves. These cognitive structures provide direction and energy for behavior, and deliberately developing them is a tractable approach to sustained motivation. - Find living examples of your hoped-for self
Identify real people who embody your hoped-for self — their existence makes the representation concrete and credible.
Possible Selves, Made Practical - Update and revise possible selves over time
Revisit and rewrite your possible selves at least twice a year — the self you need to become changes as you grow.
Possible Selves, Made Practical - Build a behavioral bridge to the possible self
Identify one specific behavior your hoped-for self does that you can do today — then do it.
Possible Selves, Made Practical - Pair the hoped-for self with a feared counterpart
Identify the feared version of your future self in the same domain — the pairing produces more sustained motivation than hope alone.
Possible Selves, Made Practical - Run prototyping conversations before committing to a plan
Talk to people already living your Plan B or C before you decide whether to pursue it.
Odyssey Plans: Designing Three Alternative Futures - Use the anticipation of interaction to create liking before meeting
Knowing you will interact with someone in the future makes you evaluate them more positively before it happens.
The Propinquity Effect (Leon Festinger) - Time nudges to coincide with natural transition points
People are most open to changing habits at life transitions — capitalize on fresh-start moments.
Nudge Theory, Made Practical - Borrow an identity temporarily by asking "what would [person] do?"
Temporarily adopting a role model’s identity in a specific context lowers the friction of acting as they would.
Identity Priming, Made Practical - Filter decisions through "what would future me thank me for?"
Before significant decisions, ask whether your future self will be grateful or resentful.
Future Self Continuity, Made Practical
Related concerns
- Behavioral Bridge Possible Selves
Identify one specific behavior your hoped-for self does that you can do today — then do it.
Build a behavioral bridge to the possible self
- Possible Selves At Work
Hazel Markus’s possible-selves framework holds that motivation is driven not only by who we are now but by vivid mental representations of who we could become — including hoped-for and feared future selves. These cognitive structures provide direction and energy for behavior, and deliberately developing them is a tractable approach to sustained motivation.
- Possible Selves During A Big Change
Hazel Markus’s possible-selves framework holds that motivation is driven not only by who we are now but by vivid mental representations of who we could become — including hoped-for and feared future selves. These cognitive structures provide direction and energy for behavior, and deliberately developing them is a tractable approach to sustained motivation.
- Possible Selves Elaboration
Hazel Markus’s possible-selves framework holds that motivation is driven not only by who we are now but by vivid mental representations of who we could become — including hoped-for and feared future selves. These cognitive structures provide direction and energy for behavior, and deliberately developing them is a tractable approach to sustained motivation.
- Possible Selves When Starting Out
Hazel Markus’s possible-selves framework holds that motivation is driven not only by who we are now but by vivid mental representations of who we could become — including hoped-for and feared future selves. These cognitive structures provide direction and energy for behavior, and deliberately developing them is a tractable approach to sustained motivation.
- Hazel Markus Possible Selves
Hazel Markus’s possible-selves framework holds that motivation is driven not only by who we are now but by vivid mental representations of who we could become — including hoped-for and feared future selves. These cognitive structures provide direction and energy for behavior, and deliberately developing them is a tractable approach to sustained motivation.
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