Yesterday I was having coffee with a friend and we were discussing the concept of leadership. Well, more accurately, we were discussing the concept of taking on a lot — both in life and work– and how rather than letting ourselves feel overwhelmed by it all, we could look to our leadership qualities to make it all work.
Here’s what I mean. Most of us have more ideas, tasks, goals, obligations, and wants than we can possibly take on without feeling completely weighed down. Ask us to shed some of that and we’re not likely to do it. We’re proud of what we’re working towards and the things we hope to accomplish.
So that leaves us with two options when we start to feel overwhelmed:
- Option 1: freak out
- Option 2: tap into our confidence in our accomplishments and use that to conquer what we’ve set out to get!
Here’s the thing. I realized that there are some things in my life and my work that scare the hell out of me. Things that make me so nervous; sweaty palms, jittery, nervous belly. These are the things that I want to accomplish but I immediately think, how in the world will I make that work? I rationalize the impossibility of it all and start to convince myself to have or accomplish all of that is ridiculous.
At least, that’s what I used to do. Lately, something has shifted. Now I have a sense of determination to accomplish the “un-doable”. And I’m basing my ability to do that on all that I’ve managed to pull off so far.
See, I realized that there is a long list of things that I have accomplished and am really proud of.
- I wanted to work for myself. I made it happen.
- I wanted to travel for long periods of time, explore the world, and take my work with me. I made it happen.
- I wanted to buy a home. I made it happen.
- I won’t bore you with more of my accomplishments, but you get the point. 😉
What I’m trying to say is that when I think about those things, I feel proud of myself. I feel like a leader and a doer. And if I can reflect on that feeling whenever I’m not quite sure about conquering the next goal, then I suddenly feel strong. I feel capable. I feel confident.
And feeling strong and capable and confident are absolute musts in accomplishing goals.
So when it come to either freaking out or zeroing in our accomplishments, I’m going with option 2.
How about you?
Lots of love and encouragement,