Life as we know it is under threat – it’s unpredictable, complex, and ambiguous. People everywhere – colleagues, family and friends – are feeling misplaced and insecure.
Despite billions spent on keeping the Australian economy afloat, companies undergoing significant changes to refine their strategies, advances in technology, and industry-wide restructure the pandemic is already having a massive impact on our livelihood.
Our world before the pandemic:
- 85% of people are unhappy in their jobs[1] and while 77% of leaders say they’re doing a great job at engaging people, 88% of employees disagree. Worse yet, 67% say they’d forgo a pay raise to see their leader fired[2].
- Loneliness is the No.1 fear of millennials above losing their job[3]
- One in five Australians have taken time off due to feeling mentally unwell; untreated mental health is costing Australian workplaces $10.9 billion per year[4]
- Auto-immune disease is so prevalent among women it’s been declared the tenth leading cause of death for all women[5] and while 1 in 3 women are victims of domestic violence, we’re witnessing the highest rate of suicide in 13 years driven by men 40-44yrs.
It’s far too easy to see this as someone else’s problem; but no one is immune.
Is this the disruption we needed to stop, reflect and transform what we know isn’t working?
It’s not easy, but what if there is a silver lining and how we can use this time to impact real change – individually and collectively?
Change is required across the entire ecosystem. The good news is that each part of the system is, directly or indirectly, controlled by us. Thanks to advances in technology, we’re now blessed with access to the world’s greatest thinkers, guru’s of personal development, researchers, academics and spiritual teachers like Pema Chodron, Deepak Chopra, and Eckhart Tolle.
We’re in an era that demands the transformation of oneself to lead disruption, navigate with compassion and act in ways that are congruent with ‘what’ we say we want.
We all have a desire to live a meaningful life, to have our lives make a difference and fulfill our life’s purpose, vision, values and goals. While life is unpredictable and we can’t change what’s happening around us, we do have control over our reactions.
Thanks to neuroscience, we’ve discovered a direct link between people being clear about their purpose – a combination of their vision, values, strengths, talents and goals and how well they respond to what’s happening in the world – not only in their ability to bounce back but to advance towards their goals, and be a leader, despite adversity.
There is, however, one universal challenge that prevents us from discovering our purpose – our view of the world.
Psychologists call it cognitive bias; a type of error in thinking that occurs when we’re interpreting information. The brain is a powerful force, but it has limitations. Our view of the world – including our view of ourselves and others, is shaped and limited by the brain’s attempt to simplify life.
We can spend years studying neuroscience, psychology or anthropology. We can spend years in therapy, counseling or personal development. While all that is incredibly valuable and will increase our awareness and expand our thinking, there are three simple practices we can apply to discover our purpose and act in direct accordance with our vision, values, and goals.
It’s called the A-Game: Acknowledgement, Accountability and Action
- Acknowledgment is a practice of recognition
We talk about leadership as being a way to mobilize others, but when mobilizing ourselves, it starts with acknowledgment – having the courage to recognize the good, bad and ugly while reminding ourselves there’s no such thing as failure, only valuable lessons learned.
Consider asking yourself, “What am I good at?” What can I give myself credit for? What are my strengths here and what do I want to be acknowledged for that’s gone unnoticed?
When we start acknowledging ourselves, putting ourselves in for that promotion, asking for that raise, being present in our career, relationships, family, or health it becomes much easier. As the infamous Dr Phil once said, “We can’t change what we don’t acknowledge”
- Accountability is a practice of ownership
It’s easy to blame the company, our boss, the government, our partners, kids or society. But, this is our life. We have no control over what’s happening out there, but we do have control over our response. We can withhold or hide in resentment, anger or fear or we can ask ourselves, “What can I do here? How can I move forward instead of waiting for the roll of the dice and seeing what other people will do?”
It’s not easy, but it is simple. Accountability comes with the courage to recognize our thoughts and actions have an impact – on ourselves, others, and the world around us.
- The practice of putting what you know into action
It sounds simple, too simple, because it is – and it’s not 😉 because we get stuck for days, months or years, telling ourselves “we can’t do it”, “it’ not my problem”, “I’ll do it tomorrow” or “it doesn’t really matter”; but unfortunately it does matter and ‘one-day-some-day’ doesn’t eventuate until it’s too late.. and life as we know it, falls apart.
When we take action we realize we’re much stronger than we give ourselves credit for. Win or lose, when we dust ourselves off we have invaluable lessons that propel us forward. Not taking action is what leads to doubt and disillusionment.
What action can you take?
- What do you know to do?
- What have you said you would do?
- What do others expect you to do?
- Take any action that will challenge your view about what you believe to be true!
‘Taking action despite how we feel’ is not a magic spell that wears off. It’s an approach to action that challenges our perspective on what is and isn’t possible – to discover our purpose, ignite our passion and amplify the impact we have in business, leadership and life.
- PwC. (2014) ‘Creating a mentally healthy workplace: return on investment analysis’. Accessed online from https://www.headsup.org.au
About the Author
Kylee Stone is the CEO of The Performance Code, a coaching consultancy specializing in leadership transformation, resilience, and wellbeing. She’s an expert incongruence and a certified coach in the Neuroscience of Resilience. Her mission is to empower people to act in direct accordance with their vision, values, and goals – to ignite their passion, grow their influence, and amplify the impact they have in the world. Kylee is a speaker at the InnovateWork Australia virtual summit on May 28.