Mavericks Exposed. One of the many attributes of a Maverick Leader is that inner drive for more. The insatiable desire to go beyond. That’s why so many of us are risk takers and enjoy a good adventure. It’s why we have the success we do. Because we push the limits.
We long to:
- Do more
- Be more
- Have more
- Contribute more
This inclination to strive is intrinsic and always with us. Like Dexter’s ‘dark passenger’ from the Showtime original American drama. Always. With. Us.
But what if the achievement of this ‘more’ actually comes by letting go?
What if the fastest way to MORE was to look at and free ourselves from what has been blocking the results and success we want in our lives?
What if it meant exposing a “weakness?”
Think of that quote
“Maybe the journey isn’t so much about becoming anything. Maybe it’s about un-becoming everything that isn’t really you, so you can be who you were meant to be in the first place.”
Paulo Coelho
Having spent years in the arena of personal and professional development with research specifically on behavioural transformation, I’ve developed some powerful strategies to become conscious of these barriers to success so we can release them and create space for the ‘more’ to come to us. I’d like to share one of these with you now.
First, let’s look at the phrase “become conscious”. The part of the iceberg that took down the Titanic was under the surface. And most of what takes us down is also under the surface.
In order to become aware of it we need to:
- Be open to the idea that you may not currently be aware of something that is guiding your behavior
- Be willing to try out a new perspective
- Be prepared to part with something that has been a part of you, sometimes for a very long time
Be open to the idea that it exists. Oddly this is often the hardest part. To get highly intelligent people to understand that negative forces may be within them and unwittingly working against them … without their conscious thought. How on earth could THAT happen?! It sounds more diabolical than it is.
Let me explain.
We all have judgments, assumptions, beliefs, and fears that keep us from thinking, feeling, and behaving at our best. Exposing that these beliefs and fears exist is the first and most important step. They may have worked for us in the past and are no longer serving us. Or maybe they were never even ours to begin with (given to us from parents, coaches, teachers, friends, media, etc).
Be willing to try out a new perspective. Once you make these beliefs conscious, you can look at them and ask yourself these three questions.
- Is this belief true?
- Is it mine?
- Is it serving me?
If the answer to any of these questions is ‘no’, then it may be time to let it go. It may be keeping you from thinking in a positive or productive way. Or feeling empowered, responding properly, or taking action on something important.
Be prepared to part with something you’ve had for a long time. Sometimes the fears or judgments we grew up with:
- I’m not good with numbers
- I don’t have enough experience
- There’s not enough time
- Who am I to….?
- I’m not good enough
… can feel comfortable like an old ratty sweater. So comfortable, we may not want to let them go. We may not want to take that sweater off.
But you’re a Maverick Leader!
You want MORE.
How can you get to more if you aren’t willing to let go of the pain/fear/assumptions/limiting beliefs that keep you from it?
Hmmm.
What if everything you want was just beyond that comfort? What if exposing yourself to these beliefs and figuring out how to release them would provide a feeling of freedom you’ve never experienced before?
What if THIS was what you have been waiting for? It may scare the hell out of you …but be honest. Isn’t the idea of it also the most calming, freeing, energising, empowering idea?
You aren’t just any leader. You’re a Maverick Leader. And that’s why I know you already have within you everything you need. All you have to do is EXPOSE it.
