In late December 2023, I participated in a workshop to empower people to create and live an extraordinary 2024. During the course, we were asked to ‘stand in the future’ and imagine that it’s December 31^st, 2024, the very last day of the year.  Then the leader instructed us to respond to the following…

• What do you really want for yourself in 2024?  Consider personal and professional aspirations.
• What is the experience you’re having as you complete the past year?

Here’s what I wrote at that time…

It’s midnight on 12/31/24, and I’m thrilled and inspired by how I’ve improved people’s lives through my leadership, coaching, and new program offers!

This declaration created a powerful context for my actions and my experience throughout this year. Although I didn’t know exactly how to produce it I made a practice of sharing my vision and keeping it alive.

The result? The creation of a whole new organization with two amazing partners, Steve Arter CPC, and Dr. Kristyn Fowkes! Our partnership is rooted in authenticity, integrity, and enjoyment, aiming to make a lasting difference. We’ve spent many hours discussing, collaborating, and petitioning for who we are as an organization before aligning on this central principle…When People Flourish, Prosperity Ensues, and Life Works.

And it all started as a matter of opening my mouth and making a declaration!  

The Power of Declaration

Human beings are mammals with language. Our use of common language is a way for us to describe, understand, interpret, explain, or opine on the world as we see it. A declaration can carry the purpose and power of creating, of bringing something into being that does not yet exist. The language we use has the power to create, to literally bring into existence new worlds as a matter of our speaking.

Declarations can bring about a change in the world. For example, “I now declare you husband and wife.” An umpire in baseball calls balls and strikes. The umpire calls the ball or strike, and no matter where the ball actually crossed the plate, the umpire calls it, by declaration!

‘The Declaration of Independence’ was created in service of a new possibility called democracy and the idea of equal rights for all. Our forefathers and foremothers brought forth a bold, new possibility that was disconnected from the past. They spoke democracy into being – they declared it so, and now you and I are living with and benefiting from the future they invented – by declaration!

What about you?

Where in your life are you settling, procrastinating or simply not fulfilling what you really want? I invite you to take the time to get clear for yourself and declare a future, a powerful context for being and acting.

Don’t worry about the grammar. The question is, “am I inspired by what I’m expressing?” You know when you’ve got it because you’ll be lit up! 

Try using this format…:

It’s midnight on 12/31/2025 and I (or we) (produced, accomplished, created [ ] leaving me (us or the team) with a the experience of [ ] )

Write it down or capture it on a device. Post it where you can see it, so it doesn’t go out of existence. Share your declaration with anyone willing to listen. 

Done properly, the declaration statement you create for yourself will inspire you and empower you – Right NOW, in the present, and as you speak it.

“Declaration of Independence – National Archives – Washington, DC” by Josh Hallett is licensed under CC BY 4.0

By Jerry Bridge