When It Comes to Branding, Are You "Shoulding" Yourself?
It may be time to throw out the rules and expectations and rebuild your brand from the inside out. In honor of February, let desire be your guide.
Evaluate Your Business Shoulds
Here is an activity for you to try to identify shoulds in your branding and a method for evaluating their value:
Take a moment and grab a pen and paper. Now, list all the things you are doing right now to promote and scale your business that you feel you should do.
Now, in a second column next to your list, write out the origin for each of those shoulds. Take your time to pinpoint where that idea came from and how it informed your decision to act. What was its source? How did it take root?
Now that you know the actual source of this should, do you still want to uphold it in your business, or is it time to let that should go once and for all? Trust your gut, and listen to your inner voice when contemplating letting it go. You know what is right for you; focus on that internal instinct.
The Power of Swapping Shoulds for Desires
This exercise is simple in nature but powerful in action. We collect shoulds or rules we follow from all aspects of society. Some shoulds are embedded, others are surface level, but all can interfere with your branding and business goals if they are out of alignment with who you are at your core. An alignment check such as the activity above can be a powerful tool for seeing and editing this fragmentation.
Shoulds can be expectations from others or sources of comparison (a common trap for entrepreneurs). Ultimately, what you do in your business should be up to you and only you. If you do not own these decisions, however, your power is handed over to anyone with an opinion. Your shoulds are more transformative for your growth when they are pure desires that fuel your intrinsic motivation.
For a brand to be deeply personal and authentic, the motivations behind your actions need to be crystal clear. This month, take a moment to do this exercise and edit out whatever doesn't feel natural, fulfilling, energizing, and empowering. If you feel constricted or handcuffed by "what you should do," identify the motivation behind it, and if it is no longer working for you, set it free! This activity allows you to grow, change, and evolve your strategy. Trust your gut; your energy is contagious when you fully own your brand. If you are half-in and bound by obligations to others, your audience will call your bluff. This exchange is about building trust with yourself first, then others.
One step towards your brand integrity is removing the shoulds and replacing them with desires. As it is the month of love, lean into your passions and see how others respond. What freedom do you gain from editing and releasing?
What Did You Release?
I would love to hear what you gained from evaluating your branding shoulds. What are you struggling to release? What was extremely exciting to let go of? Still, struggling with your shoulds? Coaching could be the perfect solution.
