My Approach Towards Inner Fulfillment
Connecting with our Inner Inspiration
What do you want to make out of your life, your existence?
What seeds of inspiration are you planting?
And what keeps you going?
What will your garden look like as you grow older, when your grow old?
What first thought gets you out of bed every day?
Do these thoughts inspire you, fill your heart?
Do they motivate you enough, make you feel that you are doing something worthwhile?
Connecting with our inner inspiration is the key to unlocking our confidence, creativity and fulfillment.
Becoming A 'Self-Activist'
Human Beings have a remarkable ability to overcome obstacles, transform their most challenging situations, and find profound meaning in their lives. The ability is there. Knowing your life's values enables you to become a 'self-activist'. You can stand for who you really are and align with your life's actions and the things that mean the most to you.
You will then gain the confidence to become an activist for the causes you believe in.
Values for Social Impact
If we asked most people how they would describe their jobs, 'inspired' or 'fulfilling' would not be the words that come to mind. But when one works for an organisation has taken the journey to embed its values into its culture and in alignment with those of its staff, and society, then people find inspiration and a willingness to perform their best for an organisation they value, because they feel valued back.
My Approach towards the Leadership Challenge
Making the Effort
Sometimes those who love us the most, and we love the most, make us feel most insecure. In their desire to 'protect' us from unpredictability and keep us 'safe', they urge us to abandon our inner calling to try or start something new. As my good friend and brilliant novelist Elif Shafak writes in her book '10 minutes and 38'' in this Strange World',
‘Just because you think it is safe here, it doesn’t mean this is the right place for you…Sometimes where you feel most safe, is where you least belong…’
Don't allow anyone to stop you from an effort you really want to go for. Even if you fail, the gained wisdom will be your stepping stone for your next success. Leaders are guided by their values and vision, not external voices.
A key characteristic of a leader is dedicating time to reflecting on their values, mission and the short and long term objectives they need to set.
Reflection is scalable - you can target it to something as small as a single meeting or moment in time or as large as your personal mission in life or 10 year career plan. All you need is a simple framework to help you be more intentional and extract richer learning from your experiences, starting with just one minute a day.
Reflecting Regularly
Planning & Keeping Track
How we spend our time is the single best indicator of what is really important to us. Time is the one asset that is never recoverable. If our time is wisely invested, it can pay returns for years. Make sure that you calendar your plans, meetings, activities as a way to keep your commitments to yourself and to others and follow through on your promises.