5 Steps For Working With Uncertainty →

Join me at http://www.DrMariaChurch.com/drmariatv/ where the discussion continues. We expect leaders, including ourselves, to have the answers. If we don't h...

We expect leaders, including ourselves, to have the answers.

If we don’t have the answer to a leadership challenge, we may feel inadequate. These feelings, like inadequacy, may also include feelings of uncertainty and vulnerability. None of these feelings feel good to us, nor are allowed in the workplace, or so we’ve been taught.

Really? Are we really supposed to never experience uncertainty as a leader? We are human beings, “hard-wired for struggle” as researcher, Brené Brown states. We are not the Hollywood version of leaders —we are human. And with our humanness, we are sometimes—make that many times, uncertain. What do we do with this uncertainty? Well, we bury it of course.

This strategy may work for us for a while, that is until it shows up again as illness, ulcers, or worse. Why do you think we are so stressed, obese, and addicted? It is because we bury and numb our feelings. We’ve become comfortably numb.The interesting thing about numbing is that when we numb our “bad” feelings such as uncertainty, vulnerability, doubt, and fear, we are also numbing our “good” feelings of joy, peace, and gratitude.Another important aspect to know about uncertainty and vulnerability is that this state is where creativity, joy, and beauty are found.

This is the place where great art is created. Walking through the door of uncertainty and vulnerability is full of endless possibilities because this is the location of our true, authentic self. How do we work with uncertainty and vulnerability without going crazy? Follow these five steps to support you during the uncertain times:

1. Embrace uncertainty and vulnerability. Reach into it and pull up and out all of the fear, anxiety, and doubt. Burying and numbing will only allow it to surface again, so lean in, feel those feelings, and then release.

2. Stay present. Don’t worry about the future or live in the past. The only moment you have is the present one, so why waste it?

3. Stay in your own lane. When we start to compare ourselves to others, we set ourselves up for failure, not because we can’t be as successful as someone else, but because we can’t BE anyone else. What I can be is the best version of me, and what you can be is the best, highest self you can be.

4. Practice gratitude. Nothing else will bring you into the present faster than gratitude.

5. Be loving and truthful with yourself and with others.

Remember that uncertainty and vulnerability is the birthplace of truth, authenticity, creativity, and beauty.

When was a time you were uncertain and did it anyway?

I would love to hear from you!

With love,

Maria

Interested in becoming an Irresistible Leader? Click HERE.

Amazing Leaders All Lead With THIS

For many, intention is defined as a motivation, a drive, or an ambition to succeed. It can be a demonstration of force, determination, or your immutable will to attain or accomplish something indicates that you have a firm intention. These are examples of our Western mental model of intention. A deeper understanding of the power of intention, described by Carlos Castaneda, suggests, “In the universe there is an immeasurable, indescribable force which shamans call intent, and absolutely everything that exists in the entire cosmos is attached to intent by a connecting link”.

This is not a model of perseverance or a mindset where only the fit (determined) survive, but a realization, again, of the connection to each other and to our Source, God. What this model of intention describes for us, as leaders, is that we are not alone in this organization, community, country, or even universe: but we are together, linked to the energetic force of intention.

Why is intention crucial to our leadership? It is the purpose, the why we are here, our belief in something greater than we are. Intention is how we derive meaning. In order to create a vision for our companies, or even our lives, we must first ask, why?

Tapping into the power of intention requires clearing space in our minds and allowing and trusting our intuitive insights to flow. Here are some exercises you can do to lead with intention: 

1. Knowing your values helps bring clarity to what is meaningful to you. Identify ten important values. Narrow the list down to your top five and write a sentence or two explaining what the values mean to you and why they are important.

2. Look at your calendar and review how you spend your time. Do the activities on your calendar align with your values? If not, why?

3. Create a mind map on a clean sheet of paper, in the center of the paper write, “My purpose for living this life is…” and circle it. Now draw lines out from this circle with as many ideas that flow into your head and heart and draw circles around each one of those words or statements, always connecting the circles with lines to the center circle of your purpose for living.

4. Using the above information you have developed, write a purpose statement, including the activities involved in achieving that purpose, people necessary to support you, and the value you provide to others.

Enjoy the process and see what you discover!

Let me know what you unearth.

With love,

Maria

Become an Irresistible Leader: https://drmariachurch.com/irresistible-leader