If you're like me, you've been consumed with getting through this.
We want to make things right, keep our freedoms and integrity, and support each other along the way. To make our world a better place.
At least this is what I have been doing since March 13, 2020.
191 days. Yes I counted! It's been 191 days since the world as we knew it ceased to exist.
One step in front of the other... walking, slow jog, then running. I ran out of steam and came to a full stop.
I could not see the path ahead of me.
A deep confusion and fog set it.
Weeks went by.
And then it happened.
Once I stopped fighting it...
I let it go. I stopped trying to fix it or bring it back.
I released the need to bring back the old life and looked for opportunity to start new.
This is the moment that I got back to work on my purpose with CLARITY and without expectation. The slate was clean.
I could now use my strengths in new ways to ground emerging leaders in purpose & prosperity even more. To help them discover create, embrace, and breathe life into their living legacies.
And the path became clearer with each step.
I let it go. I stopped trying to fix it or bring it back. I released the need to bring back the old life and looked for opportunity to start new.
Based on my discussions in the past 191 days, this is what the world needs now... more than ever: a grounding in PURPOSE. I'd like to share two excerpts from Great Good Magazine: Science Based Insights for a Meaningful Life:
"To psychologists, purpose is an abiding intention to achieve a long-term goal that is both personally meaningful and makes a positive mark on the world. The goals that foster a sense of purpose are ones that can potentially change the lives of other people..." "If we’re able to revisit and renew our sense of purpose as we navigate milestones and transitions, then we can look forward to more satisfying, meaningful lives."
Getting through this is all about being thoughtfully grounded in purpose.
Three tips for increasing clarity 💡 during crisis
So here are three tips that I have researched, applied, and shared in the past 5 months.
This is what the world needs now... more than ever: a grounding in PURPOSE.
1. Do things that bring you JOY.
In these moments you will experience intense clarity. And if you are thinking that you are not sure what brings you joy... think again! You absolutely know what they are. Make time for these actions. Slow down and find the joy.
2. Take on scary goals - they maximize GROWTH.
In this Inc.com article: One Yale study showed your brain's learning center lights up when you're confronted with stressful unpredictability and goes dark when your situation is stable and comfortable. Or, as one five-time entrepreneur puts it, those looking to maximize their success "should strive to have at least 70 percent of their time doing things that are really difficult" as "these are the tasks that result in the most growth."
3.Focus on the long-term benefits (not on problems).
Write your 1-year Living Legacy. Turn it into a poster. Focus on the benefits of achieving that living legacy that is scary and brings you joy. And with each step, look around and see how your words, thoughts and actions are impacting. Change course or not? You decide. This will make you a role model demonstrating courage to try new approaches and do things differently. And if you get overwhelmed, have affirmative statements ready:
“Things are not being done to me, they are just happening.”
“Remember who you are.”
“Nothing lasts forever. Not the good, and not the bad.”
“No one can take your joy.”
“I step into my power regardless of what anyone else thinks.”
And others.
If these three tips can be useful for you, email me or comment below; let me know how you have used them or will use them in the coming days/months.
Yours in growth,
Sonia
Laval, September 13, 2020
PS: Together with Danielle Silverman we will be speaking for the Canadian Society for Association Executives (CSAE): our topic, "Reinvention and Letting Go". Letting Go is an integral part of the reinvention process. In order to move forward in our strengths, we must recognize and let go of the things that no longer serve us. In this session, embrace the art of letting go with tools to help! More info coming soon...
2PS: Last December I announced that Take the Leap! Make an Impact program was going online. Well the time has come. This fall, 35 Concordia University students will be experiencing the 13-week, 15-min/week program to help them increase clarity, engagement, and resilience. Bring this experience into your educational or corporate world, learn more (short video) here and book time with me here.
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Sonia, Chief Reinvention Officer, Harvest Performance, , a reinvention consulting agency that supports emerging leaders' purpose-driven, ground-breaking ideas and helps them leave a positive impact on the world.
She is the award-winning author of the Ken Blanchard endorsed book, The Apple in the Orchard: a story about finding the courage to emerge, and the Take the Leap! Make an Impact program which received the 2020 Award of Excellence (AOE) for Outstanding Human Performance Intervention and has been accepted into the the Incubation Program at District 3 at Concordia University.
Why we work determines how well we work.
Let’s talk about how I can assist you and your team in reinventing for results.