The first four skills of Inner Leadership are the ability to stay calm in a crisis, to make clear sense of the situation, find more opportunities, and the ability to choose the best way forward even when the situation is unclear and the outcome uncertain.
But even when we are calm and clear and know exactly what we want to do, there are still three main reasons why we can sometimes find ourselves stuck.
The first is called overthinking or ‘analysis-paralysis‘. This is what happens when we analyse a situation so much that we cannot take a decision. Like Hamlet, we go round and round in endless circles, asking: “Option A or Option B, that is the question…? And what about Option C or Option D? And what if I fail? Or what if I succeed? And what about Option E or Option A or Option B…?”
The second reason we can get stuck is when we aren’t sure who we want to become: if we don’t know the future we most want to create for ourselves how can we choose our best next step towards it?
And the third reason is simply fear: fear of failure, fear of success, or fear of the unknown.
What all this means is that the fifth key skill or competency of Inner Leadership is the ability to overcome these three blockages.
And we can achieve this when we realise four things.
First, in this time of massive change we will never be able to predict or control what happens, so all ways forward are a step into the unknown
Second, when everything around us is changing, the biggest danger comes from standing still. (A place that was safe in the way the world used to work will not necessarily be safe in the way the world is going to work.)
Third, there is no ‘right’ way forward — only the way forward that will bring us the most energy and enthusiasm to wake up every morning longing to make it happen. In a time of change, this will give us the energy to succeed, no matter what happens.
And fourth, even if we ‘fail‘ to achieve a particular outcome, we will still have gained useful learning and experience along the way — and this can help us find another, better way forward towards whatever matters most to us
Knowing these four things enables us to overcome any of the three main blockages that might keep us stuck. That enables us to begin. And that is the next step to becoming antifragile.
Have you ever found yourself stuck? Were you overthinking, feeling afraid, or did you simply not know the destiny you wanted to create for yourself? Did you eventually choose the way forward that most inspired you? Would it be useful to be able to do that more quickly next time?
Adapted from Inner Leadership: a framework and a set of tools for building inspiration in a time of change.
You can sign up to daily posts here.
You can also buy the book here and the workbook here.
(And remember: you can’t learn to swim just by reading about swimming, you also have to do the practice.)
Photo by National Library of Scotland via StockPholio.net