Unlocking Your Future Self: A Beginner's Guide to The Becoming Map™
Introduction: The Journey from Borrowed to Self-Authored
You hold a deep desire for growth, but you feel stuck. You know there’s a more aligned, more powerful version of you waiting to emerge, yet you find yourself caught in the same old patterns, unsure of the first step to take. This gap between who you are and who you want to be is the central challenge of personal transformation.
This is where The Becoming Map™ comes in. It’s a simple, visual guide designed to help you navigate the journey from a "Borrowed Structure to Self-Authored Expression." It provides the clarity you need to move forward with intention. This article will break down the map into three essential components: your Current Identity, your Becoming Identity, and The Bridge that connects them.
1. Understanding Your Starting Point: The 'Current Identity'
Your Current Identity is the "Externally Sourced Phase" ams that is a version of yourself built on beliefs “borrowed” from your environment and shaped by a deep-seated need for safety and approval.
The four core characteristics of this identity are:
Safety-seeking: Prioritising comfort and avoiding risks that could lead to failure or disapproval.
Approval-oriented: Valuing others' opinions and validation more than your own internal compass.
Title-based worth: Linking your sense of self-worth to your job title, role, or external achievements.
Permission-based growth: Waiting for someone else to give you the green light before you pursue a goal or take a step forward.
To understand your own Current Identity, take a moment to reflect on this powerful diagnostic question:
"Where am I still externally sourced? What beliefs keep me here?"
Recognising your starting point isn't about judgment; it's about gaining the clarity needed to begin the exciting journey toward who you can become next.
2. Envisioning Your Destination: The 'Becoming Identity'
The Becoming Identity represents the self-authored version of you—the person you are intentionally and consciously growing into. This identity isn't defined by external validation but by new, internally chosen beliefs that align with your deepest values and aspirations.
The core difference between your Current and Becoming Identities is a fundamental "Belief Shift." It's about consciously choosing a new, more empowering belief to replace an old, limiting one. The map provides a powerful example of this transformation:
Current Belief: "I need permission to take up space." Becoming Belief: "My presence is a gift."
This shift isn't just a nice thought; it's the foundation upon which your future self is built. To begin envisioning this destination, ask yourself these forward-looking questions:
"Who am I becoming? What does this version of me believe that my current identity doesn't yet believe?"
Important note here: The becoming is not another layer of “new mask”. However, it is the truth self that is revealed when you commit to put away your armour.
A vision is the destination, but intentional action is the vehicle. Let's build the bridge that will carry you there.
3. Crossing 'The Bridge' with Identity Practices
Moving from your current self to your future self doesn't happen by just thinking about it. You cross The Bridge by engaging in active, intentional "Identity Practices." This is where the real transformation happens—in the small, consistent actions you take every day.
Identity Practices are small, concrete actions you can take "RIGHT NOW" to start living as if you are already your Becoming Identity. These are not giant leaps but manageable behaviours that prove your new beliefs to yourself.
Here are the examples from the map, explained with the deeper insight behind their power:
Speaking my preferences clearly: This does more than just state a choice; it directly rewires your brain to seek validation internally rather than externally. Each time you honour your preference, you are giving yourself a micro-dose of self-trust that, when repeated, systematically dismantles the "Approval-oriented" characteristic of your old identity.
Pausing before I say yes: The magic of this practice is that it creates a crucial gap between stimulus (the request) and your habitual response (the automatic "yes"). In that space, intentionality is born. You move from unconscious reaction to conscious creation, reclaiming your agency one pause at a time.
Dressing like the woman I'm becoming: This is not "dress-up"; it’s a strategic tool for embodiment. This practice leverages a psychological principle called "enclothed cognition," where the clothes you wear physically change how you think, feel, and act. It makes your future self tangible, allowing you to step into that new state of being from the outside in.
To make this practical, use the following prompt to choose your first steps across The Bridge:
"What 1-3 small practices help me embody this becoming identity RIGHT NOW?"
By engaging in these practices, you are not waiting to become; you are actively building the person you wish to be, one small action at a time.
4. Your Map to Action: Putting It All Together
The Becoming Map™ provides a complete, cyclical process for intentional growth: gain awareness, create a vision, and take action. This table summarises the entire framework, giving you a clear, high-level overview of your journey.
Phase | Core Question | Purpose |
1. Current Identity | "Where am I now?" | To gain awareness of your starting point. |
2. Becoming Identity | "Where am I going?" | To create a clear vision for your future self. |
3. The Bridge | "What can I do today?" | To take small, immediate actions to close the gap. |
Conclusion: Your First Step on the Path
Meaningful transformation is not a distant event; it is a present-moment choice, repeated. The Becoming Map™ shows that you already have everything you need to begin. You don't need anyone else's permission or a perfect ten-year plan, you only need the courage to take the next small step.
Your future self is not a hypothetical person you hope to meet one day. She is a reality you choose to build, right now, with your very next action. Look at the practices you identified for The Bridge. Choose just one. That is your first step on the path. Begin.