naming where you are and claiming where you re at...maybe you hate your full time job but want to...

© Samantha Bennett 2009 www.TheOrganizedArtistCompany.com

Naming Where You Are And Claiming Where You!re At

This article walks you through how to fill out the “Naming and Claiming” Worksheet.

It should be pretty close to the information on the recording, but sometimes it!s nice to read instead of, or in addition to, listening.

You may already have a project idea in mind, or maybe not. Or maybe your project

idea is to create a project idea. Either way is OK.

First off, let!s take a look at the circumstances that are causing you to think that

maybe a project would be a good idea with the “Naming And Claiming” Worksheet.

Because you can!t get anywhere until you know where you are.

This exercise has a bunch of parts to it, so I advise doing one segment at a time,

and don!t skip ahead, or you might get sort of confused.

The first line of the worksheet asks you to answer the question, “Right Now I Feel

___________.” So, without pondering, just write down the word that describes how

you feel right now, as you contemplate starting this process. Do you feel excited?

Nervous? Happy? Discouraged? Terrified? Giggly? On Fire? About to jump off

the high dive?

I encourage you to be completely honest here – there!s no reason that the feeling

you!re having ought to be a “good” feeling. And if you are feeling some trepidation

or anxiety, well, fine. Let!s haul that monster out from underneath the bed and call

it by its name. No sense pretending you feel all chipper and yippee-skippy if

you don!t.


The other reason to be honest is because it!s possible that as you look at this word

you!ve written, you may realize that this is a feeling you often have when you are

beginning something new. So in the same way that performers feel “butterflies”

and immediately think to themselves, “Wait a minute, I!m not nervous, I!m just

about to go on stage and I always feel this way before I go on stage” and thereby

are able to transform the feeling into energy (rather than fear) so you, too, may be

able to realize that this feeling you have is merely your body!s signal that it knows

something new is coming down the pike.

And while we!re on the subject of stage fright, let!s just straighten one thing out

once and for all: performers get stage fright. People sometimes say things like,

“Oh, you performers, you just love the spotlight!” Implying that performers are

some kind of ego freaks.

Now, some performers are ego freaks. But some dentists are ego freaks, too.

Most of the performers I know are, at heart, tremendously shy. But since according

to The Book Of Lists, “fear of public speaking” is ranked number one and “fear of

death” ranks number seven, the average person assumes that anyone crazy

enough to go in front of a crowd voluntarily must not feel any fear. Or, perhaps

they must have some pathalogical need for recognition and applause.

To the contrary!

Performers feel the exact same “fight or flight” reaction we all do when facing a

crowd: the blood rushes to the internal organs so your hands and feet get cold,


your breathing gets shallow, you feel like you have to pee and you wish for all the

world that you could just disappear. But performing artists have one secret

advantage: a compulsion to share the story. Whether through theatre or dance or

storytelling, the drive to share the story overrides the “butterflies” and eventually,

the seasoned performer learns to look forward to that rush of energy that occurs

while standing in the wings.

Artists are not addicted to applause. We!re addicted to telling the story.

OK, back to the business at hand. The next line of the worksheet asks you to

describe, in just a few words, what your current situation is. For example, let!s say

you!re considering a project goal called “lose ten pounds.” The current situation

that!s causing you to consider that goal might be: clothes don!t fit, feel sluggish,

don!t feel sexy. Bottom line it. You don!t need to write down the whole story – in

fact, I!d prefer that you didn!t. Just write down a few of the prevailing conditions.

The next line asks “What You Want To Keep.” By which I mean, what aspect of

this current situation do you honestly want to hang on to?

For example, you may hate being unemployed, but you love not having to get up in

the morning. Filling in this line might lead you to realize that you would love to find

a job that didn!t start until after 12noon. Or, to go back to our “lose ten pounds”

person, perhaps you hate feeling overweight, but you love baking treats for your

sweetie. This line might inspire you to bake delicious healthy treats for your

sweetie.


Maybe you hate your full time job but want to keep your sense of security, or you!re

tired of writing alone, but you love your ability to work in your pajamas. Any little

thing or big thing is fine. Sometimes we don!t make a change in our life

because we!re afraid that if we do, everything might change. This line helps

you figure out what you prefer not change, and then you can construct your goal

with that in mind.

As I will remind you plenty of times, you cannot screw this up. There is no “right”

way to complete these exercises; there is only your way.

Now write down one idea of what your project goal might be on the next line. And

you aren!t making a commitment yet – you may well change your mind, in fact

you!ll probably change your mind before you!re done here – so feel free to

experiment, make a guess, take a flyer.

On the next three “So That” lines, I want you to write down three things you think

might happen as a result of your completing the project goal you just recorded.

They can be three sequential things:

My Goal Might Be: to audition for a play

So That: I get cast

So That: I get noticed by an agent

So That: I become a huge international movie star and live in a mansion


Notice that these “So Thats” do not need to particularly realistic. I don!t care

about realism right now.

Or your “So Thats” might be three concurrent, simultaneous things:

My Goal Might Be: to clean my apartment

So That: I can concentrate on my work

So That: I can invite people over whenever I want

So That: I can find my socks in the morning

The next line is a bit of a mind-bender. I want you to write down your “Opposite

Goal.” That is to say, I want you to write down the exact opposite of what

you!d like to have happen. The “Bizarro World” version. So if your goal is to lose

ten pounds, your “Opposite Goal” might be to stay the same weight, or even to gain

another ten pounds. If your goal is to audition for a play, your “Opposite Goal”

might be to never act again.

I know – it seems a little silly. But Neuro-Linguistic Programming teaches us that

people are motivated both “toward” and “away from.” To be “motivated toward” is

how most creative people are: you see a vision in your mind of something that

doesn!t exist yet and you work to make it come true. But many are also “motivated

away from”: you see a vision of what you don!t want, and work to make it not come

true. In other words, you see a vision of yourself ten pounds thinner and you work

to make it come true; you see a vision of yourself suffering from obesity, heart

disease and diabetes and work to make that not come true. (Lawyers and housing

inspectors tend to be “motivated away from” people, and thank goodness for that.)


Since we all have at least a little bit of each kind of motivation, it pays to give

a name to that which you are fleeing.

And now you are to write three more “So Thats,” but these are three consequences

of your “Opposite Goal.”

For example:

Opposite Goal: to never act again

So That: I never express myself creatively

So That: I spend all my days stuck in a cubicle dying under fluorescent lights

So That: I end up lonely and alone in a house with thirteen cats

Or maybe:

Opposite Goal: to gain another ten pounds

So That: I end up with heart disease

So That: I have to buy a whole new wardrobe

So That: I end up lonely and alone in a house with thirteen cats

Go ahead and exaggerate. Be a little silly. Again, I!d rather call those monsters

by their right names than pretend they!re not there.

Great job so far. You!re doing really well. Pat yourself on the back again.


Now, this next part is about values. And it!s sort of a sneaky way to figure out what

your own personal values are. I!ve found that if you just straight-out ask someone

what their values are, they are likely to say things like, “health, family, friendship…”

And those things are certainly valuable. But they!re a bit generic.

I!m looking for the values that truly motivate you and really get you fired up. Or as

my client Laura put it, “I work out, and I could tell you it!s because I value my

health, but it!s not really for my health. I work out because of my vanity!” And

she!s right – vanity is an excellent value and a highly motivating one. So is

money. As is the desire to share your work, shine your light and be seen by

important people.

I want you to go through your worksheet and extract any words that reflect a

“positive” value. If you look at the example on the next page, you can see the

words highlighted in yellow are then listed at the bottom – and they got transposed

into the form of a value, if necessary. So the word “excited” gets written down as a

value of “excitement” and the word “fit” gets written down as a value of “good fit.”

The words highlighted in blue represent “negative” values, so you just need to flip

them around to determine the value they represent. In other words, if you wrote

down words like poverty, failure and loss, those might get recorded as values of

prosperity, success and winning. And you might have to fudge around with them a

bit – that!s OK, this isn!t an exact science. As you can see on our example sheet,

“nervous” got written down as a value of “calm,” “sluggish” become “energized” and

a little further down, “have to buy” reflects a value of “thriftiness.”


You might want to keep playing around with this list of values, and add to it as new

ideas occur to you. These unique-to-you values will be your inspiration when

you feel dried up, and they will give you courage when you feel weak. These

values are what will motivate you to pick up the phone and call an important

person, or to make a bold move you might otherwise shy away from.

Great. Almost done. Just make a few quick notes about anything you!ve noticed

while doing this work – anything you want to make sure you remember – and call it

a day.


NAMING AND CLAIMING

Right Now I Feel: ___nervous, excited____________________

The Situation Is: clothes don t fit, feel sluggish, dont feel sexy ____________

What I Want To Keep: ____making delicious treats for my sweetie__

My Goal Might Be: ____to lose ten pounds_____________________

So That:__I like myself_______________________________

So That: ___I can feel strong and healthy_____________

So That: _I feel more confident & can ask for a raise____

Opposite Goal: ____gain ten more pounds_______________________

So That: ____I get heart disease___________________

So That: ____I have to buy a whole new wardrobe_______

So That: _I end up alone and lonely in a house with 13 cats_

Values: excitement, good fit, sex appeal, delicious treats, my sweetie, self-love, strength, health, confidence, asking and receiving, money, wardrobe and looking good, calm, energized, good heart, thriftiness, friends, companionship and community

Here!s What I Notice About This: _______________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________


NAMING AND CLAIMING

Right Now I Feel:____________________________________________________

The Situation Is: _____________________________________________________________

What I Want To Keep: ________________________________________________________

My Goal Might Be: ___________________________________________________________

So That: ___________________________________________________

So That: ___________________________________________________

So That: ___________________________________________________

Opposite Goal: ______________________________________________________________

So That: ___________________________________________________

So That: ___________________________________________________

So That: ___________________________________________________

Values: ____________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Here!s What I Notice About This: _______________________________________________

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