Yesterday’s post showed how being clear on purpose and values enables you to focus on achieving what matters most, even the most extreme churning.
Today we list the seven very practical benefits that taking the time to get clear on purpose and values brings:
1. Better Results
The more clearly you define your purpose and values, the better you can focus on what matters, ignoring what does not. The faster you can then move forward.
Inner clarity brings outer results.
2. More Motivation
People who know who they are keep going in the face of negative feedback. The clearer you are on what is important to you, what you are doing about it, how and why, the less other people’s feedback and reactions will matter. You are who you are and that is that.
3. Fewer Problems
When issues arise you can quickly decide quickly whether they matter or not. If an issue is relevant to your purpose and values then address it. If not, then it is someone else’s fight. Ignore it.
4. Clearer Opportunities
As you move forward towards your vision many opportunities will arise. Do you take them all? Knowing your purpose and values will help you decide which are of value to you and which are merely distractions.
5. Clearer Outcomes
Having chosen to engage with a situation, your purpose and values enable you to see quickly what is most important about a situation and define what it would look like if your purpose and values were being upheld. (Once you are clear on what outcome you want, you can then spend more time working out how to achieve it.)
6. Greater Feeling of Control
In a world of constant churning everything can seem out of control. In fact there is only one thing we can control: ourselves. Knowing your values and purpose enables you to choose your own behaviour, no matter what happens around you or how anybody else behaves. This is true power.
7. More Freedom, Flexibility, and Adaptability
When you know your purpose then your short term vision becomes just one route to achieving it. Then if events turn out different from what you wanted or expected, you can quickly shift to another way of achieving the same purpose. In a time of churning, nobody can be expected to predict the future, or achieve perfect results, 100% of the time. Knowing your purpose helps you recover more quickly from setbacks.
Purpose and values can sometimes seem abstract, woolly, and vague. But defining them brings very practical benefits.
Inner clarity brings outer results.
Chapter 5 of Inner Leadership shows you how to identify your purpose and values.
Chapter 6 shows you how to use this to create an inspiring vision for the opportunity you have chosen to pursue.
Chapter 7 shows you how to prepare for the implementation of Outer Leadership.
Photo By Chris Hunkeler via StockPholio.com