Brilliance

Around the world people are celebrating the arrival of a new year (except, of course, in China where the year of the snake rings in on February 10!) with hope, enthusiasm, a renewed sense of love and wishes for peace. What is it about reaching milestones like this that allow a collective "ah" to wash away all that was not accomplished in the past, celebrate what was, and move into the future with vigor and joy?  Every year it's the same, over and over for millennia, collectively.  

Powerful stuff.

Billions of engines create that power. Those very wishes for something better that we each launch at the birth of a year matter.  The energy they create matters. We start full of energy to see through our new hopes and plans. True, our energetic intentions may fade a bit as the year progresses - the type of fuel required may change - but the boost we receive from that initial thrust of high-powered change makes its mark.

At the beginning of 2012, as we settled into our new desert home, my engine was going strong. But my world was changing. I traded in my revered yoga studio for an inspiring desert landscape, and added a new fuel to my commitment to live a soulful life. The brilliant resolution?  Complete 12 runs in 2012. Looking back, I am proud of setting this goal, even though I realize its brilliance was more in line with the shining light at the end of a long tunnel than a disruptively intelligent idea. 

This is how it went: 

February: two runs.  March: one run.  April: one run.  May: one run. June-December:    zero runs.  

Zero runs. Where is the brilliance in that?  The most honest answer I can offer is that, after completing not quite half of my planned goal, I had to admit to myself that running is simply not a soulful experience for me. It does not bring me joy and peace.  It was not how I wished to spend my time.

Bummer. And in the end, brilliant.

By June, we were boating a lot, and it was hot. Realizing I needed to I make a fuel change, I put my running resolution to bed. Jeff found a little workout online that could be done almost anywhere, including in the small space of our air-conditioned living room and on the beach at Lake Powell. So we started doing this little ditty three times each week, and to my surprise, it filled my soulful needs on levels I didn't even realize needed filling! The exercise was great. But the togetherness made it fun! It was fun watching Luji doing her version of the moves right there with us. It was inspiring hearing Jeff cheer me on when my legs were ready to give out. And it was fun watching my hot hubby working hard along with me. We now aim to do this little ditty five days per week, together as much as possible. Brilliant. 

And now I find myself coming full circle...ready to make some soulful decisions about how to harness this profound, new year energy bubbling inside me. Interestingly, I find pieces of it pulling me back to my roots: to one of the original feeders of my soul. Yoga. This year of transition and growth brought a lapse in my practice. I'm ready to bring it back, to welcome a renewed commitment and embrace its powerful flow. To experience the deeply rewarding "ahhh" that accompanies the soul-filling hard work and discipline it requires. Yes. I can almost feel it now.

I wonder what your resolutions at this natural time of transition might be?  What brilliance does your soul desire?  What might this powerful energy mean for you in the year to come?  
Whatever it is, embrace it. Allow it to flow.  

Let time reveal its brilliance.

Little Packages

Leadership opportunities sometimes come in the smallest packages. And those packages are often not wrapped up nice and neat.  

Perhaps that little box with no bow is the way we respond to our child when faced with an issue we just don't want to deal with at that moment.  Maybe it's a must-have discussion with our spouse, or a work situation or encounter with a friend that feels awkward or off for some reason. Or maybe there is no box: the issue seems too small to need one at all... until you consider it closer and realize the opportunity this little issue presents is massive.  

Sometimes, the package is a creative thought or inspiring quote - something that, at the time it hits you, is simply too powerful to fit inside any box.

With a new year upon us, and wishes for health, happiness and prosperity coming to our family from friends around the world, a quote by Seth Godin struck me, and stuck with me, after I read it last night. Perhaps it stuck because the last year for us was all about embracing discomfort (leaving an institution I love and selling a business that have clothed and fed our family for 18 years, moving to a new town, helping open a new school, writing a bit more, following my passion and launching Q3 (!), sending Luji off to kindergarten)...and the opportunities that have and are developing as a result.  It's been an uncomfortable journey on many levels, but the leadership lessons - at home, in work and in my relationships - make it absolutely worth it.

In his book Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us, Godin writes, "Leadership is scarce because few people are willing to go through the discomfort required to lead. This scarcity makes leadership valuable...It's uncomfortable to stand up in front of strangers.  It's uncomfortable to propose an idea that might fail.  It's uncomfortable to challenge the status quo. It's uncomfortable to resist the urge to settle.  When you identify the discomfort, you've found the place where a leader is needed.  If you're not uncomfortable in your work as a leader, it's almost certain you're not reaching your potential as a leader."

Absorbing this message made me wonder: why do some of us choose to embrace the discomfort of leadership every day, while others choose to avoid it all together?  Do some intentionally (though perhaps unconsciously) seek out uncomfortable situations for their inherent leadership potential as we proceed down our personal leadership paths?  If we do, why?  For the hope of making things better and the rush we get when we do? Is it always healthy to embrace discomfort?  Does opportunity and growth follow the majority of the time?  Why do those who choose to embark on journeys of personal growth and change embrace the discomfort of doing so?  Why is 'resisting the urge to settle' such a  'comfortable' thing for some to do?

What are the implications of the answers to these questions for our families, communities, schools?  What about global economies, our environment and health? 

A new year is all about hope, and change, and growth. It is my hope that leadership will become a bit less scarce. That more of us will be willing to actively embrace the discomfort of challenging the status quo and resisting the urge to settle. That we will each continue our work towards reaching our fullest potential as inspiring leaders and forge a path to making things better. 

It's true that this will require vulnerability and risk, but they are two little packages absolutely worth opening.