Coaching practices for Role Models Possible Selves
Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Role Models Possible Selves, 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"
- Stuck at a hard choice, "can I even do this?" just loops in my head and freezes me
- I’ve got this clear, vivid picture of the person I want to become, and I love daydreaming about them
- I’m still grinding toward a version of "successful me" I dreamed up years ago, and it’s stopped lighting me up
- The inspiring vision of who I want to be gets me fired up for a day or two and then quietly fades
Practices that may help
- 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 - 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. - 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 - 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 - 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 - 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 - Choose and study role models deliberately
Select a specific person whose character in a specific domain you want to internalize, and study how they act — not just what they say.
Virtue Ethics, Made Practical - Use vicarious mastery to lower the threat estimate
Before attempting something difficult, watch someone similar to you succeed at it — not an expert, but a peer.
Mastery Experiences - Learn from credible models (vicarious experience)
Watch someone like you succeed at the thing you fear.
Self-Efficacy: Building the Belief You Can - Learn from observing others who are similar to you
Watch people like you succeed at the behavior — their success provides evidence that you can too.
Social Cognitive Theory
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
- 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.
- 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 In A New Job
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.
- When Possible Selves Possible Self Social Proof
Identify real people who embody your hoped-for self — their existence makes the representation concrete and credible.
Find living examples of your hoped-for self
- Choosing Role Models
Select a specific person whose character in a specific domain you want to internalize, and study how they act — not just what they say.
Choose and study role models deliberately
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