Creating Lasting Transformation: Perform a Current State Evaluation (part III)
This is part 3 of 6 in a series about the process for making lasting transformation through intentional exploration and conscious choice-making. Read part 2 here.
Once you have clarity on what change you want to make, the next step is to perform a current state evaluation. The purpose of this step is to get really clear on where you currently are so that as you implement changes, you have a clear starting point from which to measure progress.
I can’t think of a better way to put it than what Andrea Mignolo wrote in the brilliant article Building a Relationship with Change:
Imagine you are setting out on a road trip across the country. You pick a destination on the opposite coast and begin to plan your route. But you are so unhappy with where you currently live that you deny you are actually there. You spend a lot of time and energy maintaining the idea that you live somewhere else entirely! How on earth can you plan the trip if you don’t know where you are starting from?
To get to know your current state, note what you do and don’t do that currently works against your goal. For a goal of increased mindfulness, you might notice that you:
DO have a very rigid definition of what “counts” as mindfulness
DO allow other priorities to come ahead of mindfulness
DON’T have a set time to practice mindfulness
Note that when capturing the current state, you want to make behavioral observations — without getting into judgments or outcomes. This part might require a few rounds of editing. For the first bullet, I initially wrote it as “have a very rigid definition of what ‘counts’ as mindfulness making it harder to accomplish” but then I realized that “making it harder to accomplish” is the outcome.
In order to coach yourself to identify the current state, answer the following questions:
What behaviors do I exhibit that work against my goal?
What behaviors do I not exhibit that work against my goal?
When doing this, it’s also very common for a judgmental inner critic to appear. It might sound like “I should just wake up early and practice right away… what’s wrong with me?!” With coaching clients, when I notice a potential inner critic, we’ll pause to get to know that voice so that in the future it’s easier to recognize when it appears. If you notice the inner critic coming up, look for ways to turn the judgment into a neutral, behavioral observation.
This exercise is likely one that will take ongoing observation to get a complete picture. After creating your first draft, try capturing new observations at the end of each day or week to round out your current state assessment.
In the next installment, I’ll share the third step in the process, which is to identify how your values are at-play in your current behaviors. This will give you a clearer understanding of why you feel entrenched in the current way of doing things.