Self-Concept: The Body-Led Method for Fully Inhabiting Your Creative CEO Identity
Article Published for The Reinvention Series Collection—Written by Our Editorial Director, Casey Balon
Photo by Ihssan Rami Azouagh
What would happen if we oriented the intelligence of our body towards fully supporting our identity as a Creative CEO? What would this open up for us? What would we be available for if this was our natural state?
Written by Casey Balon
(click here to read about Casey)
Welcome to The Reinvention Series.
“Do you believe confidence precedes competence, or do you think it’s the other way around? Orrrrr — do you think it fluctuates, with your sense of confidence increasing, stabilizing, and then decreasing again as you up-level to your next skillset?”
Today is the day; I can feel it in my bones. I am working with a piece (well, this piece actually) on self-concept, and I am digging for intellectual gold.
I am halfway through pouring my tea when I glance over at my partner. It’s barely 9am, and he is finishing up an intensive call from work. It must be, at the very least, his fifth or so of the sort, and he is buzzing. With the exception of being at the lake, on an airplane, or some other magical land without service, this is a pretty typical day off for him. What’s more — I have heard his classic giggle of delight a few times this morning (a clear signal that, despite sounding relatively rigorous and dynamic, the projects at work are going well).
Photo by Tabitha Turner
a high caliber and well-practiced internal posture:
self-concept and self-compassion reside in the way we move our bodies
I take one look, seeing the way he is moving his body this morning. Through the lens of the topic at hand, I notice (not so much thinking but understanding): ‘he’s at a stabilized level of competence meets competence right now.’
You know — that gloriously intersection we eventually come to on any invigorating and aligned career path (most especially that of Creative ‘Ceo-ship’ ) where we can:
intuitively use the skillsets we have developed (cue: integration station)
frolic in the volume of subconscious proof we have gathered demonstrating that we are capable of consistently showing up at a high caliber manner
anchor into a deep-rooted sense of self-trust that we can navigate any dynamics and circumstances in front of us
and…
naturally inhabit a well-practiced internal foundation of confidence, without a persistent inclination to prove ourselves
The journalist in me decides its the perfect time to pose a question.
Photo by Julia Cheperis
the initial answer — the one that lives in a spark of belief:
a faith walk becomes a visibly secure path after we begin to walk it
“Do you believe confidence precedes competence, or do you think it’s the other way around?
I was curious (and for good measure). Even during periods where he has a deficit of self-assurance, he embraces it with a certain degree of outward-facing steadiness.
He immediately begins drawing a line graph — x axis: confidence, y axis: competence. I don’t question why, or how, he has instantaneous access to a pen and paper. (He has always been a graph-drawing creature.) As I suspected, he draws the graph in a way that confirms what I have witnessed him embody throughout the past 15 years of his career: a series of peaks and valleys with an upward-trending progression.
“So, ultimately, what do you think has to come first — confidence or competence?”
“Confidence. Every time.”
Photo by Karly Santiago
the ultimate first move, the epitome of trust:
what i am really asking is:
Is it the belief that you can do a thing or the ability to do a thing that has to come first?
From his vantage point, the answer lives in belief.
Every time.
And I completely agree. If only for a nanosecond, trusting your body enough to let it move (even if you consciously do not yet have evidence that it is possible); allowing your body to show you what is available, is the key.
A spark of belief. A step ignited by a millisecond of confidence (perhaps as seemingly inconsequential as the firing of action potential from one neuron to the next) that something — your bones, your heart, your community, your life, and the great Divine all in one — is holding you.
A belief that says, “even if I fail, even when I fail, I am safe to make a move in this very moment.”
Even when, especially when, that move is deeply restful, restorative, or playful in nature — a choice that can be the ultimate demonstration of belief, the epitome of confidence.
Photo by Mathilde Langevin
From many angles, “seeing to believe” (aka: gathering evidence for our subconscious, energetic, and conscious minds, or “expanding” as To Be Magnetic founder Lacy Phillips would describe it) is such a potent component of building the internal foundation for a deeply-rooted Self-Concept (which we have fully defined in a section down below), but even then — even with the “evidence” — this glimmer of belief (that we can associate with “confidence”) MUST exist.
Photo by Amy Shamblen
a handful of essential, compelling factors:
my quest to uncover why self-concept and belief are so intertwined continues…
I still have questions; the first one being: What carries this spark of belief?
What distinguishes someone who continuously steps into the unknown, gathering more capacity (a deeper degree of competence and trust in their natural forms and expressions of genius) from someone who repeatedly refuses the lionized call to adventure?
on one level, the answer is quite simple
There are a handful of compelling and essential factors, and they all connect back to Self-Concept.
Photo by Vadim Paripa
the lived idea, rooted in the way we perceive and contextualize ourselves:
when our deep-seated belief system and our overt expression become the best of friends, and the biggest allies
Self-Concept is a lived idea rooted in the way we perceive ourselves — what we deeply believe to be true about who we are, what we deserve, and why we experience what we experience.
Photo by Lesulie Collins
What we believe to be true about ourselves orients:
how we show up to each moment of our day (including the qualities we naturally radiate and inhabit)
our engrained, repeated, and chosen behavioural patterns
our self-talk and relationship with our internal landscape
our inter-relational dynamics, as well as our approaches to true conflict resolution and repair
our partnership with creative expression, career and wealth building, the risks we are willing to take, and so much more.
Every choice, connection, and pattern in our life either:
a) predominantly pours energy into our self-concept,
b) stabilizes it,
or
c) routes energy away from it.
Photo by Ratih Mandalawangi
*To dive into a comprehensive list of factors that can impact our internal foundation and subconscious worth, as well as influence our physiological experience of safety, I highly recommend reading the section “What leaves an imprint on such an exquisite bodily system?” in our article covering the peripheral nervous system, linked here: 17 Completely Underrated Techniques for Regulating Your Nervous System.
taking inventory — what lens am I framing my Creative CEO Identity through?:
The 3-Stage Self-Concept Journal Inquiry:
Stage 1: Scanning My Current Frame
Stage 2: Identifying My Most Enriching & Energized Frame
Stage 3: Creating Safety to Inhabit Her Identity Now
Through either a written journaling process, a voice note recording session, or a dynamic conversation with a safe (and inspiring!) friend, delve into exploring the following prompts:
Stage 1 questions: getting intimate with my current self-concept
1. What have I accepted or decided is possible for my life? (Where do I believe my current limits are? Am I 100% certain these limits are true? How could I bring curiosity and an innovative perspective to the way I’m seeing things?)
2. Am I currently fulfilled by/enriched by/at peace with the internal experiences I am having on a day-to-day basis?
3. How do I currently carry myself when I engage in my creative work?
4. How do I currently carry myself when I take on the leadership and relational skillsets associated with my line of work?
Photo by Brynn Thorn
5. What are my body language, movements, speaking tone, and pace like? (How they fluctuate? Is there a pattern or dynamic that makes them shift?)
6. When I create space to really tune inward, do I consider myself to be capable, confident, and competent on my creative career path? Is this evident in my desired external experiences?
7. On a scale of 1-10 (with 1 being absolutely excruciating and 10 being the most natural experience I could have), how safe does it feel to fully embody my Creative CEO Identity? *If you’re desiring to dive into a deeper emotional inquiry with your creative practice, we have a full written masterclass that goes ALL IN on this topic: How to Take Your Creative Practice Off the Pedestal While Still Protecting It.
Photo by Mathilde Langevin
who is this potent human being — this enlivened Creative CEO?:
Stage 2 questions: identifying the most enriched and energized version of me
1. Who am I when I am the most vital and fully-expressed version of me?
2. Who is the version of me who does not require permission to fully inhabit their Creative CEO Identity? (What is this woman like? What qualities does she possess?)
3. What are the daily habits, beliefs, and behaviours of this woman?
4. What is her internal experience on a day-to-day basis? (What does she believe to be true about herself, and about others?)
5. What choices does she make on a daily basis? How does she take accountability for her growth?
6. On a consistent basis, how does she treat, speak to, and honour herself?
7. On a consistent basis, how does she leave other people feeling?
Photo by Kevin Turcios
8. How does she perceive her deservingness and belonging in her field of expertise and interest? (What skillsets is she cultivating, and which ones has she mastered?)
9. What is her relationship with new beginnings and being a beginner?
10. What are her standards when relating, collaborating, and responding to others?
11. How does she navigate giving and receiving feedback? How does she approach conflict resolution, recovery, and repair?
12. What is her approach to problem solving, innovation, and iteration?
13. What support does she allow herself to receive? How does she support others?
14. How does she feel in her body? In her tissues? In her bones? and How does she naturally hold herself as she speaks? How does she pause and listen?
15. What is her relationship with self-compassion? (How does she treat herself when she experiences failure, or when things become complex?)
Bonus Question: How does this version of me prioritize her faith and intuition in a way that positions them to naturally guide her choices?
Photo by Manny Moreno
what does she need? the foundational bricks, the cardinal details:
Stage 3 questions: creating a simple foundation to bridge the gap — being her now.
While our belief is often ignited (and sustained) by our faith in the unknown but thrilling long-game, stage 3 of the process is where we get granular about bridging the gap. Instead of ‘future casting’ what some idealized version of ourselves could be like in a fairytale land, we are orienting into the present moment.
This is where we live out the answer to the question:
Who would I be if I started being her now?
This is your *official* invitation to infuse a healthy level of delulu into your life perspective and level of embodiment.
Photo by Haley Hydron
A weighty (but genuine) hard stop: I am fiercely passionate about creating sustainable change in a ‘trauma-informed’ manner. We will be covering some of the essential components for how to inhabit a new Self-Concept in a section down below, but this article does not provide the context for trauma healing. It provides the context for what we can do to begin pouring energy into our dream Self-Concept now. Often, in order to actualize this potential, shifts get to be made ‘under the hood’. Soma-held and energy-based belief systems and patterns require courageous meeting and repetitive rewiring. Such a process deserves deep rest, intentional work (sometimes over the long term and with therapeutic professionals), and space. Today, we are taking a playful yet direct approach, focusing on the lived avenue of Self-Concept, which provides the necessary frame for us to begin orienting our bodies toward that intention and *delightful* octave of expression.
Now back to our delectable regularly scheduled programming…
Photo by Eugene Chystiakov
Our Stage 3 questions:
1. What toolkit do I need in order to create the physiological experience of safety in my body as I uplevel (and deepen) into My New Self-Concept now?
What are all the ways I will consistency support my nervous system as it expands its capacity to hold this identity shift? Which tools will I access when I need more intensive or specialized support?
2. What type of communal support do I need for the best possible experience?
Who in my circle will strengthen my ability to embody this Self-Concept? Who else will be affected by my changes? Who (or what) will I need to set different boundaries with, clear, or create space from? (Are there any conversations I need to have? Are there any other loops I need to close?)
3. What dynamics, patterns, beliefs, and behaviours am I most committed to shifting in this current season?
If I were to choose 1 intention to prioritize for the next 30 days, what would I choose to focus on? Based on what I am currently experiencing in this realm, what possible beliefs do I have about my ability to create the intended experience? From the lens of my enriched Self-Concept, what is my new belief about my ability and deservingness to create this intended experience? What is 1 action (or set of actions) I will be taking consistently to support this? What system do I get to put in place to support me — and keep me accountable — with this?
Photo by Pawel Czerwinski
building our personalized toolkit; revealing our unique path forward:
equipping ourselves with the most potent tools
There are many beautiful ways to orient our energy and anchor into our next-level self-concept on an everyday basis. Let’s explore a few below and intuitively choose elements of each approach to weave into our daily routines.
1. Visual anchor points — connecting with our signature internal experience
-Consider creating a signature collection of images that cue the visceral sensations of who this woman is (who you are) as you inhabit your Next-Level Self-Concept (Pinterest is phenomenal for this!).
-Experiment with integrating this into your routines on a consistent basis; for example: a few minutes in the morning and before bed (intuitive and repetitive exposure is key; notice and guide your body into the internal experience you have associated with your Self Concept).
Photo by Mathilde Langevin
Subconscious reprogramming — normalizing experiencing safety in our new self-concept
-Whether it be the hypnosis and deep meditations offered by To Be Magnetic, Insight Timer, or another platform, begin creating space to truly co-create with your internal landscape.
-Creating safety in the body (often through a restorative parasympathetic nervous system state, such as that experienced in non-sleep deep rest practices) is a spectacular first step.
-As we experience deeper levels of safety, finding the root experiences (or simply the body-based sensations of a dynamic or belief that is playing out in our life) can be super helpful in rewiring the pattern into a new pattern of experience over time. Fully feeling and processing the emotions that a younger aspect of us did not have the wherewithal to process, is SO incredibly nurturing.
What’s more — this allows us to rewire a new belief system, energetic experience, and behavioural pattern into our nervous system over time without shaming the old pattern or perception. (This level of patience and self-compassion is what truly allows our new internal experience to become the safest, most enlivening experience.)
-We can pair this with daily journaling, quiet contemplation, or (one of my personal favourites) voice note diary entries while we’re on a walk. These types of exercises provide the perfect companion to deeper work and allow us to receive new intuitive insights for our personal process. (And if we’re finding our internal landscape feels too overwhelming or complex to navigate on our own, there are a multitude of other resources we can tap into — different forms of bodyworkers, energy experts, and therapists, such as those that specialize in parts work and EMDR, who can deepen the effectiveness and sustainability of our process.
Photo by Roberto Nickson
Building a badass creative hype crew
-How we perceive ourselves is largely influenced by the support, love, and consciousness of those who surround us.
-While so much of what we do to create change in our lives is based on internal shifts and the way we carry out external actions, I see communal support and alignment as one of the most underrated aspects of up-leveling.
-When we’re in proper company, we are able to see things that are challenging to perceive on our own.
*If you’re looking for a piece about the physiological importance of quality friendship, check out our article on Why We All Need Creative Hype Women).
Clearing & rewiring with movement and body-oriented practices
-Listening to what our body has to say is just as important as showing it a new neural route, and letting it feel a new way of being in the world.
-This is where you’ll want to consider which tools are most helpful and appropriate for you in this season: regular walks in nature? comedy shows? cold therapy? longform conscious connected breathwork? ecstatic dance? baths? red light therapy? tea dates with our besties? regular visits to the float tank?
-Even strength training, functional movement, and other forms of exercise can soothe our systems and increase vagal tone (for more lively recommendations, check out our article on soothing your nervous system while traveling).
Photo by J Lee
Creating a healthy environment for our mind (including a next-level question you’re going to want to write down)
-A well kept mind considers our thought patterns, interpretations, as well as our endocrine function — addressing habits such as optimal sleep hygiene, nutrition, and morning sunlight exposure — but our relationship with our mental health doesn’t stop there. Mental fortitude invites us to take the reigns in compassionately guiding our minds to stay curious and focused.
Whenever you are making a decision, experiment with asking yourself this simple question:
Is this the choice she would make?
*“She” refers to the version of ourselves who already embodies your Next-Level Self-Concept; substitute “she” with the pronoun that is relevant to you.
-Whether the decision pertains to a business venture, choosing to communicate in a healthy way (hello secure attachment style!), how you’re going to redecorate your office, or what you’ll choose to order on the menu at your favourite restaurant, — it’s almost always a valuable question to pose.
Photo by Tetiana Kobzeva
Prayer, heart posture, and spiritual hygiene
-For me, this is the most important loci of all.
-Of course this will depend on your personal relationship with your faith, but in my personal experience, taking a more active role in deepening my connection with God, was a nonnegotiable. It completely transformed my experience and perception of everything — including who I perceive myself to be, and who I perceive everyone else to be.
-Hitting an energetic rock bottom in 2022 was the catalyst for the most profound heart posture reorientation of my life. Once I pivoted the way I approach my faith, intensified my prayer and worship, and got super clear about the community of folks I am willing to surround myself with on a regular basis, how I see myself inside my creative “CEO-ship” transformed.
-I thought I had a strong foundation of faith before, but taking clearer responsibility in this area of my life fully up-leveled my ability to inhabit my Creative CEO Identity this year.
A Prayer that Can Support This Piece:
God, please move me in the way you would have me move today. Allow me to be in the highest service through the work that you would have me do. Allow me to be who you would have me be.
Photo by Collins Lesulie
the decision point — the forgotten piece many people are afraid to talk about:
ultimately, with any perception upgrade, a decision gets to be made
Sometimes (perhaps in our attempt to avert spiritual bypassing behaviours), we end up labeling the arduous path as the more respected route, the proper lane. Ultimately, though, choice plays a major role in our ability to sustainably embody a new, more authentic and liberating, automatic set of interpretations — deep-rooted beliefs about about who we are, what we deserve, and why we experience what we experience.
The decision to surrender and receive a new perception — a truer perception — is an essential aspect of our humanity.
We can wake up one day and realize we have stumbled into the role of creative leadership, or we can decide to actively partner with the process with our eyes wide open, choosing to live out our new identity with the tools and perspective truly worthy of our most inherent resources — our time, our presence, and our vitality.
In the end, the question is quite simple: Which avenue will we choose?
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Article Written by Casey Balon, Editorial Director of Casey Jacque
Casey is a writer & creative director based outside of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. With a heart for literary journalism, an appetite for adventure, and a spark for creating dynamic — and deeply collaborative — environments, her aim is to bring Genuine Voices back to the Creative Table. When she’s not carrying out an interview, or writing about Creative Vitality through the lens of the body, you can find her hiking with her dogs, regenerating with her fiancé, diving deep with dear friends, or exploring a new country.
Let’s Connect: Instagram @iamcaseybalon, e-mail casey@caseyjacque.com
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