This is the first of a series of 7 posts.
The 7 Habits of Hope Based Self – Leadership reflect my emerging thinking about how the presence of active, combative hopefulness can serve as a force for change and progress. Not all change is good, therefore, we need to be resilient in the face of change no matter its complexion.
We all knowledge that hope is a critical factor in resilience. There are times when our instinct toward hopefulness is challenged by events and therefore we get pushed into retreat. I think we need to look at such times more positively. Retreats can be affirmative they can give us time to reflect. We can use them to rebuild ahead of the triumphs to come. Triumph does not come without a struggle.
Hope makes us active, combative, open-eyed and sure-footed even over rough, unpredictable terrain. My hopes are for greater equality, diversity, removal of poverty, universal access to education, healthcare and asylum. Just to mention the basics!
My inspiration has been drawn from the work of Rebecca Solnit whose book ‘Hope In the Dark’ reignited my desire to re-engage in social activism.
These posts are as much for me as for others who are moved by events to test their strength in the current battle for the best of humanity. I want to become stronger in self-leadership in line with the mantras:
“To lead others effectively, first learn to lead yourself”
” To lead change effectively, first open up to change in yourself.”
The 7 Habits of Hope Based Self – Leadership – Habit No. 1
I am an impulsive creature and sometimes act without thinking through the cost or the consequences. My pledge to myself, in order to lead myself more effectively, is to test the ground more before leaping. Connect with the terrain in advance of committing myself to action. During the three decades stretch from the miners’ strike to the break-up of the former Soviet Union I was a committed political activist. One of those who would have been described as being on the ‘loony left’. I smile when I recall the demonstrations, vigils, public meetings I attended and organised.
I am looking around now for a fresh way of becoming involved that will heal the disassociation I have experienced since leaving ‘active service’. My passion for the cause of creating a ‘better’ society has not diminished but I am uncertain as to how and where to align myself with integrity. None of the political parties will answer to that.
Values
Another area in which I feel the gap between my dreams and current reality is in relation to building my coaching practice as a viable business. How does one promote oneself with integrity, reach out for new clients without compromising one’s values? Becoming a businesswoman has created this discomfort for me, but writing and blogging, reaching out and sharing, helps to soothe much of that discomfort. I find like-minded people gravitate toward and want to work with me. I get positive reinforcement and affirmation. But where do I go for challenge and constructively critical engagement? There is a real danger in being surrounded only by those who agree with us.
So I continue to make my stand through the words I write, invite critical engagement through the relationships I form and check alignment with the ethics I live and work by. Something good will come of that! My hopes remain strong.
#HopeInAction2017 Self-Leadership Challenge No 1
What will you dare to reach for this year that you believe in and thirst for and which will challenge you to retain clarity of vision in the midst of complexity?
Live your own #HopeInAction2017 pledge, follow the progress of mine!