The past two weeks we’ve touched on WHY you need to confront reality and HOW it will impact your life and leadership journey.
But deciding to confront reality is one thing—it doesn’t happen automatically! It’s a GREAT first step, but nothing counts until you do something about it.
When you’ve decided to CONFRONT REALITY, here’s your next step!
(This is an overview from the information in Mark Miller’s life-changing book Smart Leadership)
1. Get clarity on YOUR universe.
Make a LIST of the areas of your life that you know you must get clarity. These might involve some soul-searching and some long overdue conversations. Perhaps:
2. Laser-like focus on your priority areas.
Let’s face it, the list you made might be pretty long. So now you need to narrow your focus and choose which ones you’re MOST concerned about, the ones that will give you the greatest return for your effort or the greatest amount of satisfaction. Prioritizing does NOT mean you’re ignoring the rest. It means you’re focusing, and focus brings progress. If you start and finish one important area, your momentum will build and you are much more likely to go after the next area.
3. Consult the data
“This area hasn’t been right for a long time.” “I’m not sure where I would start.” “I’ve tried before, but the other person shuts down the conversation.” All of that may be true, but when you step back and look at the data in a subjective manner, every single one of those challenges can be overcome! Think, pray, get help, but don’t give up.
4. Ask the tough but good questions
What would life be like if I have a breakthrough in this area? How much internal pain or loss of joy comes from everything staying the same? The harder the questions you ask, the closer you will be to confronting your reality. Clarity is your reward at the end of the maze—to get there, you have to ask challenging questions.
5. Take steps to live in your future joy.
That sounds way too touchy-feely for me, but I’m not certain how to say it. Seeing is believing, but you won’t see it until you step out by faith and begin living the life that
you’ve been desiring. Most things are easier said than done. But if I want a better relationship with my colleague, I’m going to end up having needed conversations, then I will begin treating him or her like we are good friends. I’ll be nice, cheery, helpful… all the things I would be for a friend! Begin to live in that new reality and watch it come to pass.
When you start treating people differently, they change. I don’t know how or why, let’s just call it leadership magic.
There are a some more solutions in help in “Smart Leadership.”
By faith I want to tell you something… Congratulations! You are confronting your currently reality, taking personal responsibility, and doing something about your future. That’s what champions do!
Much love!
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