How we think of ourselves (our self-image) and how we behave in accordance with that image in the real world is the stuff of congruence. It’s one of the most profoundly powerful drives we have as humans–to live in consistent alignment with who we think we are, how we want others to perceive us, and who we want to become.
You can’t create congruence with something you’ve never defined, so it’s important to consciously create a unifying self-image of who you are and who you want to be.
Activator #1: Set New Standards for Yourself
Choose and memorize six words that become the standard frames through which you act in life: three words about who you are and three words about how you treat others.
Have a vision of who you can be and actually be that vision–that’s congruence. When these words become your mantra and personal standard of conduct day in and day out, then you’re more likely to be congruent with exactly the person you’ve always wanted to be.
Activator #2: Set Your Mood Meter
If we have a positive, sustained, and even emotional energy about us, then we feel our emotions are congruent with how we want to feel in life. We feel grounded and secure in our emotional world no matter what the world throws at us. In this way, feeling congruent is sensed by having a consistent internal emotional set point or mood.
Activator #3: Keep Your Word and Follow Through
Congruence isn’t just in doing what we say we’ll do but in doing what we know we should from start to finish.
What are your responsibilities in life? What have you started but not finished? What can you do today to better manage your responsibilities and finish what you’ve begun?
Charge Points
1. To live my six-word standards each day, the behaviors I would have to stop or start in my life to be more congruent with them are…
2. Three things I could do every day to better manage my mood so I can have a greater day-to-day congruence in how I feel are…
3. Five commitments I’m going to make and keep in the next sixty days are…
* Source: The Charge by Brendon Burchard