Episode 146: Self Coaching SAFARI

Today I’m going to teach a concept I recently introduced in the Crusade and which is quite possibly the tool I’ve created that I love the most. 

It’s based on the CTFAR Model created by Brooke Castillo, founder of The Life Coach School through which I received my coaching certification. 

As soon as I heard her talk about The Model, that’s what it’s called when anyone from the school talks about it, I immediately recognized it as the most elegant form of explaining Stoic philosophical principles I’d ever encountered - and I fell instantly in love. 

After using it with clients and teaching it regularly, I realized that while the process is elegant - it isn’t easy to remember or fun to talk about. So I’ve modified it a bit and added an additional step and that’s what I’m going to teach you today.

The Importance of a Name

It’s called a SAFARI, which is in all caps because it’s an acronym. But it’s also a word that was deliberately chosen. 

You may not know this, but words matter a lot to me. I’m kind of a nerd about them because the words we use to describe ourselves and the world around us are important - they create our reality.

So let’s begin with the word safari. According to the Cambridge dictionary, the word safari comes from the Swahili language and means an organized trip to look at, or sometimes hunt, wild animals, especially in Africa.

This seemed appropriate because I typically describe our thoughts as rampaging wild animals. Wildebeests, if you will, which are native to Africa. 

And the name wildebeest? It comes from the Dutch who arrived in Africa, saw these animals and thought they looked like wild animals and so that’s what they named them - “wild beast”. I love it when a plan comes together.

Back to our SAFARI.

This will definitely be an organized trip to look at, and sometimes hunt - but it won’t be wild animals. You will be hunting thoughts, those rampaging wildebeests, in your own mind. Fun, right?

Ok, there’s a little more language nerding to do.

The Swahili word is derived from the Arabic word, صَفَر (ṢAFAR), which is commonly understood, across many dialects, to means travel.

According to an article in The National:

As a verb, it has several meanings. The first refers to the act of something being discovered, becoming apparent or clear. This definition can be applied to an object, idea or a concept taking formation or becoming understood.

Perfect, right?

What does SAFARI stand for?

Before I get fully into the process, it’s time to talk about what the acronym SAFARI stands for. 

• Single Fact: A single neutral, objective fact.
• Automatic/Aligned Thought: All thoughts are subjective and optional. An Automatic Thought is one that happens automatically. An Aligned Thought is an intentional thought you choose that is aligned with your values and goals. 
• Feelings: An emotion—a sensation in your body.
• Actions: The actions you take or don’t take based on the emotion you were feeling..
• Results: The outcome your actions created.
• Intentional Review: Reflect on the ṢAFAR

The thing that most people don’t realize is that our automatic thoughts create our experience of reality but they are optional and by choosing aligned thoughts we change our reality. 

By shifting your thoughts, you can shift your life. 

The SAFARI is a self-awareness tool that helps us see the thoughts creating the gap between what we want and what we have and shows us how we can begin to close that gap by deciding what we want to think, feel, do, and create on purpose.

Self Coaching Safari Process

The SAFARI Process is a new way of thinking about your thoughts and learning how to coach yourself. I use the word ‘safari’ in a number of different ways.

• Thought Safari
• Unintentional SAFARI
• Intentional SAFARI

All of these are the foundation of a Self-Coaching Safari. First you go on a Thought Safari, then you go on an Unintentional SAFARI and then, if you’re feeling frisky, you can go on an Intentional SAFARI.

A self-coaching safari is designed to help you become aware of your thoughts and feelings, explore their origins, and intentionally change (or keep) them to create intentional outcomes in your life. 

By dedicating just a few minutes each day, or a few times a week, to these exercises, you'll notice a significant shift in the way you think and ultimately in your life.

Thought Safari

The first step is to go on a Thought Safari. 

This is where you’ll write down everything you can remember about whatever it is you want to examine. This could be a specific thing that happened, an area of life you want to change, a conversation you had, a goal you want to manifest, or literally anything else. 

This is not the time to edit your thoughts to sound “right” - you’re hunting all of the stampeding wildebeests. 

Write it all down - for five minutes. For those of you who are worried about ‘doing it right’, set a timer and write for at least five minutes. You can absolutely write for longer than that if you want to.

Now it’s time to identify the different types of wild animals in your thought Safari which are the facts and thoughts.

Circle all of the facts you can find in your Thought Safari. These are the neutral, objective things you observed. Words someone said, a specific goal, an unexpected bill, a rainy day, a missed deadline, etc. 

Underline all of the automatic thoughts you see in the Thought Safari. Most thoughts are automatic, even when you’ve been self coaching for years. This is where you’ll find the things about yourself you never realized and where there is the most potential for growth. 

Examples of Automatic Thoughts:

• I suck.
• They don’t like me.
• I’ll never be able to do this.
• I’m so unlucky.
• I hate the way I look.

Examples of Aligned Thoughts:

• Messing up is how you learn new things.
• They might be having a bad day.
• I can figure this out.
• That was unfortunate.
• This is how I look

Unintentional SAFARI

Now it’s time to go on an Unintentional SAFARI.

First, you’ll identify the Single Fact you want to coach yourself  on and put it on the S line. This is one of the things you circled in your Thought Safari.

Then, choose one of the Automatic Thoughts you had about that Single Fact. This will be your A. Don’t forget, you only get one of these per Unintentional SAFARI.

As you think about this Automatic Thought, notice how it makes you Feel and that becomes your F. Make sure the Feeling you put down is related to the thought you chose and not another thought that was rampaging around.

Now, consider all of the Actions you did or didn’t take as a result of that feeling and write them all on the next A Line.

Finally, think about what happened as a Result of those actions or inactions. Put that on the R Line.

Now we are at the I part of the SAFARI - and it’s honestly where a lot of the magic happens. 

Think about the Thought-Feeling-Action-Result cycle and decide if you want to keep it.

Really think it through. Sometimes you’ll want to keep an Unintentional SAFARI and its purpose will just be to help you gain clarity and process what you’re feeling.

Other times, you may decide you’d like to have a different experience.

Intentional SAFARI

If you want to change it, decide what Aligned Thought, Feeling, or Action you want and go on an Intentional SAFARI.

You can start at any point on this Intentional SAFARI but the Single Fact must remain the same as the Single Fact in the Unintentional Safari. Why? Because we can change all of the other SAFARI lines just by changing the Automatic Thought to an Aligned Thought. No need to change the circumstances you put as your Single Fact. 

So, if you know the Result you’d rather have - start there and work backwards. If you’re a feeling person, start with the feeling and find the thought that fuels it, etc.

And that’s it! You can now go on your own Self Coaching Safari anytime you want just by following this process. If you’d like more help and guidance there’s an entire module in the Crusade waiting for you with Daily Safari worksheets to help you get started. 

Subversive SAFARIs

Every week I coach Crusaders and help them work through the SAFARI Process. It’s one of my favorite subversive strategies to use.

Why do I consider it subversive? Because the world wants you to believe that everything is outside of your control and that you need to let governments and people in positions of supposed power tell you what to do and what to think. Most people want you to believe that you are responsible for their feelings and your actions should be based on what they want to feel.

If we’re being honest, your own brain is working against you telling you similar lies so that you won’t discover the truth. 

The truth that you really are in control of your experience, and only your experience. You can’t control anyone else. You can’t control fate. But you can fully own what you think and learning to be aware of your own thoughts and how they are influencing your actions and impacting your life and emotional stability is one of the most powerful and subversive things you can do.

It’s the basis of every magical tradition I’ve studied and all of my favorite philosophical traditions.

Personal accountability is radical and subversive because it is where true freedom is found.

Of course, I also use astrology in our group coaching as it’s another of my subversive strategies but that’s a story for another time.

So tell me... 

Are you excited to start going on Self Coaching Safaris? Does thinking about your thoughts freak you out or does the prospect of fully owning your experiences and your power sound exciting?

Spend time with these questions and see what comes up. If you’re feeling frisky, hit me up on Instagram and share your answers with me.

Until next time, my wish for you is the power to choose your thoughts intentionally.