The first four skills of Inner Leadership are the ability to stay calm in a crisis, to make clear sense of the situation, to find more opportunities, and to choose the best way forward even when the outcome is uncertain.
But even when we know what we want to do, there are still three main reasons why we can sometimes find ourselves stuck.
The first is overthinking or analysis-paralysis. This is when we over-analyse a situation so much so that we cannot take a decision. Like Hamlet, we flip back and forth between the possibilities, endlessly asking: “Option A or Option B, that is the question…? And what about Option C or Option D? And what if I fail? What if I succeed? And what about Option E or Option A…?”
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 want to create for ourselves, how can we possibly choose our best next step to take us there?
And the third reason we can get stuck is simply out of fear: fear of the unknown, fear of failure, and even fear of success.
So the fifth key skill or competency of Inner Leadership is to make sure that we are able to overcome these three potential blockages and move forward.
We can do this when we realise that:
- In a 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
- When everything is changing, the biggest danger comes from staying still
- There is no ‘correct’ way forward, only the option that brings us, and the people around us, the most energy and enthusiasm to wake up every morning longing to make it happen — in a world filled with change, only that will keep us going
- Even if we ‘fail‘ to achieve a particular goal we will still gain useful learning and experience from the attempt. And that will then help us to find a new way forward from there
Knowing these four things enables us to overcome or let go of any of the three main reasons that people feel stuck. Then we can begin. And that is the next key step to becoming antifragile.
Have you ever found yourself feeling stuck? Were you feeling afraid, overthinking, or did you simply not know the destiny you wanted to create for yourself? Did you eventually choose the way forward that inspired you most? Would you like to be able to do this more quickly next time?
Adapted from Inner Leadership: a framework and tools for building inspiration in times of change.
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Photo by National Library of Scotland via StockPholio.net