Before the great explorers of old set out on their journeys they would always draw a map of the territory they were about to enter: where was the food and the drinkable water? Where were the deserts and the swamps, the helpful people and the dangerous ones? Even a sketch map was better than no map at all.
These times of change that we are living through have turned us all into explorers. Nobody can predict what we will find tomorrow, let alone in a year’s time.
So like those explorers, we will succeed better if we prepare a map to take with us.
In our case, the map we need is not a map of the outer physical world but of our own inner world: a reminder of what will keep us grounded, focused, motivated, and aligned on the priorities that matter to us, no matter what might happen around us.
The final chapter of Inner Leadership shows you how to draw this map uniquely for yourself, by pulling together the key features of everything you have explored in the book:
- What you are working to create: your inspiring vision
- Why this matters to you — your purpose
- How you are going to make this journey — your values
- How this contributes to your living a worthwhile life — and what you are doing to achieve that
- Facts and quotes that inspire you and draw you forward
- The people who are essential to achieving your vision, and what they need to stay motivated
- How you will keep yourself centred, grounded, and connected with your priorities as you move forward
The workbook provides a template that you can use.
By creating a map of these key landmarks before you set out, you give yourself something to refer to if you get lost — a tool that enables you to quickly reorient and realign yourself, no matter happens.
This makes you antifragile. And, like the explorers of old, you can add to your map and update it as you move forward.
Do you have a clear map of what most grounds and inspires you? Would it be useful to create one, ready to use in 2021?
Adapted from Inner Leadership: a framework and a set of tools for building inspiration in times of change.
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(And remember: you don’t learn to swim by reading about swimming, you also need to practice.)
Photo By Public Record Office of Northern Ireland via StockPholio.net