What it actually means to “hold your image”
by Holly LanesmithYou’ve probably heard me use the phrase, "hold your image."
Whether you’re new to my body of work or have known me for years, you know that the idea of holding your image is one that I am passionate about sharing with others.
And no matter how many times you’ve heard me use this phrase, I want to share with you a prime example of what it actually means to hold your image.
Holding your image always starts with an idea; this is the starting point of all creation.
Once you have an idea of what you desire to be, do, or have, you must become attached to that idea in a way that it becomes a burning desire and is at the forefront of your mind.
Next, you need to nurture the idea and invite it to be welcome into your life.
One thing that I teach my clients to do (specifically in the Fully Resourced program) is to write that idea down on paper.
There’s something powerful about transferring ideas from the mind to a physical piece of paper.
Think of it as the first step of transferring it from the intellectual realm into the physical realm.
When we write things down, not only does our mind do a better job at remembering what we’ve written down, but we are more likely to take actions in alignment with those ideas.
I don’t have the time to share all the psychology behind this, but I do want to share a truly powerful story of a woman who had an idea, wrote it down, held her image, and got to see the idea transfer into reality.
Earlier last month, I shared the story of Chief Dr. Ndidi Musa.
Many of you have already heard about her recent success of being promoted as Chief Division Doctor in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Seattle Children’s Hospital.
I am so proud of Ndidi because as incredible as this milestone is, it only came about because she persistently held her image of that which she desired.
It all started 5 years ago when Ndidi attended a seminar and wrote out a goal she had for herself.
I would love to share that very page from her personal workbook with you here.
She already had the idea of working with me as a thinking partner, and she held that image as one of her first steps.
This isn’t about her working with me; that’s not at all what this is about.
This is about the power of holding your image.
She had this image. But of course, she had limiting beliefs.
She didn’t have time, she had doubts about being taken seriously as a woman - and more specifically, as an African American woman working in the United States.
She had doubts about transitioning into the world of coaching and personal development…
But no matter what doubt and fear came in the way, she had this image and she held this image persistently; she held it for 5 years.
She didn’t have time, but she made time. She attended seminars I spoke at. She attended workshops and groups…
She made an effort to take action steps in alignment with her dream.
Again, this is not about me. This is about Ndidi holding her image. I just happened to be the voice she was listening to.
And 5 years later… look at this. This is a page from one of our most recent progress reports.
As you can see, it was all about holding her image - even through all the doubts, fears, and limiting beliefs that she once held.
Now the question I want to ask you is this: what do you really want in your life?
Do you have clarity? Can you describe it to me so that I would have that same image in my mind?
That’s the litmus test. You know you have a true image when you can describe the image, the emotion, and the feeling of whatever it is that you want to be, do, or have, in the future.
If you can describe that to me in the present tense, and I would have a match in my mind - I would have that same image, feeling, understanding - that’s when you know you have an image.
When you lack the clarity of holding your image, you invite fear, doubt, and confusion; and in a nutshell, uncertainty.
And when you lack certainty, you freeze. You don’t take action. And most of the time, that’s the #1 thing that gets in the way of people taking action toward their dream.
In my Fully Resourced program, I teach an entire process of turning down those voices of fear and uncertainty. And it all begins with directing your attention from what you don’t want to what you DO want.
And today, I want to share a piece of that with you.
I encourage you to think about what image you need to hold in order to create the life you truly desire.