The last post was a friendly reminder that your mentor is your internal guidance system. You’re here, reading this, because you’re answering the call to true leadership so that you no longer feel ruled by life. You desire to feel more empowered, and through that lens you know that others around you will become more empowered too. By being the change you want to see in your organization, you will see the change in yourself, in your team, in your network, and out in the world. And by working this method or with someone to guide you with a similar approach, you will also have fun in the process!
Once you understand that self-leadership is the answer, the only answer, and that’s all there ever is to it, there is no turning back. Your excuses are no longer valid. They are no longer believable. You can’t fake your way into buying them because your mentor, your inner guidance system, already knows the truth.
You might read these words and understand them. Thinking about this might stop you in your tracks. If it does, it’s because you know, somewhere, that this is the truth. It already lives in you.
Every time I get caught in my patterns of overthinking, overefforting, or feeling like I’m forcing something that’s just not working while hoping my knight in shining armor will come save me—it’s there. The reminder. The truth. My mentor appears before me—the voice telling me that everything I need is already within me. My mentor tells me to just take a beat, pause, and revisit my script where I’m in control of my story.
When you know you need to be the hero of your own journey and give that main-character energy to the world, and that it’s you who’s responsible for carrying out daily habits that keep you grounded and focused on your bigger purpose, there’s no running from it.
You can try to quiet the truth, but it doesn’t go away. No matter how hard you try when you’re scrolling on social media to numb out, heading to yet another after-work happy hour to shut your brain off, finding other ways to procrastinate, or avoiding the thing altogether—once you’ve crossed the threshold into this new world, you can no longer escape the truth. You’re just buying time. Time that could be used on accepting what is and doing the next right thing.
Self-leadership and taking complete ownership doesn’t mean doing it all yourself. It’s not about taking accountability for things you’re not accountable for or micromanaging those who are. It’s quite the opposite. It means you’re taking directed action towards YOUR goals, taking accountability for YOUR actions, and trusting yourself in the process because you know you made decisions from the purest, calmest place. You had the right vantage point when you made those choices, and you know that, no matter what, from that place there is no wrong answer. You know that if you continue to operate from a clear mind, everything will always happen in your best interest or in the best interest of your greater purpose. From this place, you trust that even if things don’t go as you hoped, this continued practice will keep you on the right path.
Once you’ve crossed the threshold past the ordinary world, the truth is always there. It’s up to you to accept that. The sooner you do, the sooner you’re on your way to becoming the change you want to see. And see the change you will.
The daily habits of checking in with yourself are what will keep you on track. They are there to fall back on and will keep you honest with yourself. Your daily habits remind you that you’re no longer living in the ordinary world; you are taking complete ownership over your life—now and always.
If you have crossed the threshold and committed to leaving the ordinary world behind, and you know the truth will set you free—I encourage you to take action! Commit to a couple things you can do daily to keep you on the right path to claiming the reward for doing this work: taking full ownership of your life and your business and having more fun in the process!
Take action: The story you’ve been developing over the last five posts should now read like a play. You introduced this hero character and wrote about what type of person they are, where they started, and where they’re headed. You mapped the plot with some interesting turns with obstacles the hero had to overcome, and they did indeed prevail. Now it’s time to have your character, your hero—YOU—make a commitment to some daily habits to help them keep on track and ensure they will complete their mission. What are the one or two (no more, no less) daily habits that you can 100% commit to for the next 90 days that will remind you that you are the hero of your own story? What will keep your mind focused and clear as you’re faced with challenges? What will help you remember that the power resides within you to overcome them? How will you commit to being the change you want to see? Write them out as commitments to yourself. Here are some examples of daily habits you might try: “I commit to spending at least 30 minutes a day alone without distractions, just to think.” “I commit to saying ‘I don’t know yet’ before trying to solve something I’m not ready to address.” “I commit to looking at things not as obstacles, but as puzzles that have a solution that I just haven’t figured out yet.” “I commit to taking the necessary time to think before reacting.”