Are you sick and tired of not getting ahead in your career and just don’t seem to be able to get yourself out of a rut? Yes, we’ve all heard that there are certain steps you need to take to get ourselves out of the rut and to help facilitate real change.  Do these terms sound familiar?  Accountability, responsibility, commitment to yourself, forgiveness, positive think and speak, synchronicity within and outside, and so on.  So, you’re thinking:  “I’ve already tried all this. However, somehow, I still can’t get myself motivated to do something. There is just so much going on in my life.”   That’s where the wonderful tale of Beauty and the Beast can show us how to shift from being a procrastinator and instead become an activator.  An activator is someone who takes charge of her life and steps into her own power.

Let’s see what we can learn from Belle in the Beauty & The Beast. If you can recall, Belle is sent to the Beast as a condition of generosity extended to her father during a down period in his life.  For several months, Belle lives a life of luxury at the Beast’s palace, being waited on hand and foot by invisible servants, having no end of riches to amuse her and an endless supply of exquisite finery to wear. Yet, eventually, she becomes homesick and begs the Beast to allow her to go to see her family.  While she’s back with her family, she settles back into a zone of comfort (or procrastination) and lets her sisters influence her similarly to her life with the Beast at the castle.  However, along the way she is awakened to her true feelings for the Beast, i.e. the fire in her belly is ignited and she breaks out of the mold with her sisters and she no longer just sees herself as a pawn of her circumstance.  In her own way, she becomes a beast and goes after what she wants.

And isn’t this a big issue for women?  We fall into the comfort trap within our career, while being extremely discontent.  How can you then break out of your career complacency?  All you need to do is take a few simple steps to move you forward:

1.       Develop your life’s mission statement.

This is about personal responsibility and a commitment to yourself.  The purpose of this step is to define who you are, what motivates you and what is important to you. A lot of times we procrastinate because what we think we want in our head is not really what’s in our heart. It’s the same as building a house; you need to construct a strong foundation before you erect the walls.

Mission Statement

A one-sentence statement about what you stand for in life. What is your life’s mission or what would you like it to be?

Foundational Beliefs
I believe:

· List of what systems drive your intentions? For example: Taking great satisfaction in my work helps propel my company’s growth.

Foundational Values

I value:

· List what is most important to you in achieving your life’s mission. For example: Commitment to family.

2.       Prepare your massive action plan and act upon it.

Here you get accountable and synchronize your inner desires with your outer world. The purpose of this step is to help you with moving from a procrastinator to an activator. Now you’re “igniting the fire in your belly” with a plan on how to get there.  You create a massive action plan.  In your journal or notebook allow for a column for each of these items:

-   Results

-   Purpose

-   Date Due

Then chunk your activities. For example: I will be promoted to X position. Chunk this activity into steps, such as: Monday, I will meet with my boss to discuss my career focus.  By date X, I will put together a list of leadership training classes I want to take.

To help you get clear, think in these terms:

-   What are the quantifiable results? For example: I will have increased my salary by 10% by December 31, 2012.

-   What’s in it for you?

-   What is the reason you want this so badly?

-   List date which is attainable and realistic. Don’t set yourself up for failure.

3.       Review your successes and reinforce self-rewards.

Here’s where you remember that it’s just about taking one step at a time.  You don’t beat yourself up incessantly; you forgive yourself when you slip up and encourage positive think and speak with yourself.

The purpose of this step is to validate that you’re on track. Continually review your massive action plan and acknowledge yourself for achieving what you set out to. Motivate yourself with positive words in your mind and out loud! And if you didn’t achieve everything you set out to, remind yourself that you’re human and move on. You have the opportunity to start all over again.

An activator is someone who successfully understands when she needs to be the Belle of the ball or the Beast running the castle.  The important take-away is that Belle realized that she had to listen to herself and then immediately take action.