Welcome to Week 21 of the Authenticity@Work Leadership Tool-kit! My intention for this series is to share a quick tool each week to help you lead with more authenticity, adaptability and inspiration so we can together create workplaces where we bring the best of ourselves and inspire others. So grab a journal and an accountability partner to make these practices even more powerful for you!
In last week’s post we discussed letting go of the tension in your body.
Shoulds deplete our energy because there is lack of alignment within us. Notice the difference in energy between the following:
“I really should get up and get to work” versus “I really want to get to work to finish this cool project.”
There is a part of us that doesn’t want to do something and, at the same time, another part (usually a saboteur) that threatens us (at gunpoint!) to do it. It’s like driving a car that has bad wheel alignment; it takes more energy to get to where you want to go, and you’re often off track.
So should we not go to work because we don’t feel like it? Not necessarily. What we need to do is slow down and get curious about our shoulds. By doing so, it becomes easier to be fully authentic, for our Director to choose the part that is most appropriate to be in charge.
Turn a should into a want with the power of choice.
This Week’s Tool:
Question to ask yourself: How do we get ourselves out of our shoulds?
Start by recognizing the saboteurs for what they are. I use that iBreathe app from chapter 4 and bring my Center Intelligence Agency back in charge. The Director decides that my ally the Inner Fool is what’s needed.
Get the latest resources for Authenticity@Work (this tab will get updated with all kinds of cool resources). Curious to know more about the book? Read the reviews about Wired for Authenticity here.
[…] last week’s post we discussed letting go of your “shoulds”. Did you see how your saboteurs show up in […]