Before they set out on their journeys, the great explorers of old would always try to find out about the territory they were about to enter: where was the water and plentiful food? Where were the deserts and swamps, the helpful people and the dangerous ones? They would draw all these rumours on a map — and even a sketch map was better than none.
These times of change have turned us all into explorers: nobody can predict quite what will happen tomorrow. So like those explorers of old we will all do better if we carry a sketch map to guide us.
In this case, the map we need is a map of our inner landscape: the sources of motivation and inspiration that will keep us aligned and enthusiastic, no matter what might happen around us.
The final chapter of Inner Leadership enables you to draw this map uniquely for you. It does so by pulling together the key features of the territory you have explored in the book:
- The inspiring vision you are working to create
- Why this matters — your purpose
- How you are going to make this journey — your values
- How this contributes to you living a worthwhile life (and what you are doing each day, week, or month to achieve that)
- Facts and quotes that inspire you and draw you forward
- People (stakeholders) who are essential to achieving your vision, and what they each need from you
- The methods you will use to keep yourself centred, grounded, and connected with your priorities as you move forward
By pulling together these key landmarks you create a map to refer to whenever you get lost — a tool to quickly reorient and align you before continuing your journey.
And like those explorers of old, you can then update it and add more detail as you move forward.
Do you have a clear map of what most inspires you: what it is, why it matters, and what you are doing to increase it in your life? Would you like to have one?
Adapted from Inner Leadership: tools for building inspiration in times of change.
You can sign up to daily posts here.
Map image from the “Journal of the Discovery of the Source of the Nile”, by Captain JH Speke, 1863