I stand in front of the mirror with a black sharpie, with my shirt hiked to my upper ribs. I pull the skin around my belly taut and dig the marker into my abdomen, as I slowly begin to write the backwards B, which in the mirror, looks forward facing.
This was my assignment from E, the transformative coach with whom I had just spent an hour rambling about the past 4 years of my life, the many changes, studying yoga, the issues with my marriage, and what I see as my ideal future.
“What do you want for yourself?” She asks.
“I want a book deal,” I say without hesitation.
“You’ll get one,” she answers nonchalantly, “And it will happen quickly.”
My heart flutters at the thought of quickly.
“But first, you need to believe on every level that this is yours. So here’s what I want you to do. Take a sharpie and write book deal across your solar plexus. Write it backwards so that you can see it in the mirror. Make the book deal an extension of you. Literally. And invite the kids to write a word or phrase on their bellies,” she added. “They could use a little empowerment right now.”
After my session, the kids and I head toward the mirrored closest doors in the playroom and write our words. My cheerleader writes “Win,” while the Dude writes “Toys.” My little one writes “Love and Friends,” but she is bothered by the marker and scrubs it off in the tub later that evening.
Mine has faded a few times since Monday, but I’ve gone to the trouble of filling it back in.
I’ve taken to my backwards Book Deal tattoo.
It reminds me of the bigger picture, beyond my current daily grind, and the learning curve that I’m facing right now, with all of my logistical challenges.
It reminds me that I’m entitled to pursue the things I really want, and it allows me to feel gratitude for being honest enough with myself to acknowledge that I really want them. How many of us bury our desires because they’re too scary or downright inconvenient?
And now, I must remind myself to go work on my book outline, because the only way I’m getting a book deal is if I actually write this book.
Besides, E. wants a progress report on Monday.
How do you motivate yourself to get closer to your goals?
Have you ever tattooed a word or phrase on your body for motivation?
And most importantly, will you buy my book? :)
Namaste, Divas!
