Much of what living a tremendous life involves is deconstructing what is and reconstructing to what can be. Life is like a jigsaw puzzle where you get to create the picture on the box as you go. There’s a timeless tension between where we are right now and where we want to be in the future. If there's one thing I've learned it's that intentionality trumps capability. There is no use in saying, "I can," unless you follow it up with an, “I will.”
The primary objective of designing your life as a strategic activity is to understand where you are in your World of Limits. Understanding this entails getting honest feedback from friends, mentors, bosses, and people you serve alongside. It also means understanding your degree of personal agency, which is a fancy word for your level of drive and motivation. Some limits are factual, and then there are the self-imposed limits that keep us from being intentional about creating our future.
The World of Opportunity is everything you ever hoped or dreamed. It’s your life bucket list. It considers your innate talents, your previous experiences, and your personal and professional goals. A great way to dial into this world is to take the myriad of personality and strength assessments online and read tremendous books from others who have gone before. One of the tests will also show you your ability to achieve, or self-efficacy
Too many of us have given up because we feel our World of Limits is worlds apart from our World of Opportunity. The truth is, we can put the effort in to cause our worlds to collide resulting in some tremendous growth and change. One of my favorite quotes is by Deepak Chopra, “All great changes are preceded by chaos.” In Mandarin, the word “crisis” is perceived as a moment of opportunity. We can turn disaster into an opportunity by demonstrating resolve and courage.
There are two main things you must ask yourself as you begin the process of worlds colliding, known in today's leadership lingo as "creative disruption." First, do you believe that your ability can grow, i.e., hard work pays off. And second, do you believe in your own ability, i.e., I can figure anything out if I try hard enough. Once you dial in your intentions, your self-imposed limits begin to diminish, and you start leaving your comfort zone and incorporating your World of Opportunity.
I hope the visual of the two circles impacts you. Sometimes just seeing a truth in a simple diagram helps me see what is holding me back so I can begin moving forward. Here’s to a tremendous week of worlds colliding!
