Consider this: A father once asked his son “The story or the warrior, which is mightier?” “The warrior!” He replied. The father shook his head in disagreement. “The story. The story is mightier than the warrior,” he said. “How can that be?” The son asked. “The story lives on long after the warrior has died,” He explained. The son thought on this ,
Where are you in the journey to your story? To amplify your voice? On your journey, the power of conversations and sharing stories should not be underestimated. They are the impetus to breaking down beliefs and misconceptions and the driver to turning thoughts into actions.
Coaching promotes the art of powerful questions by challenging assumptions and unlocking the potential to move from awareness to consciousness. Awareness is intuitive. Consciousness is reacting to intuition. Acting on the awareness that the story is mightier than the warrior, that this life journey is a marathon and not a sprint. Continuous small adjustments make sustained progression.
While stories build legacy, they can often be detrimental if we tell them to ourselves without taking the action to share with someone else. As I participate in coaching conversations, I have come to realize that sometimes we create stories in our head based on what we believe to be true. While we must trust intuition, we must also act to validate these stories. If we do not have the conversation, it automatically becomes the single source of truth because we convince ourselves that this is a fact. The biggest barrier to moving to action is avoidance. Remove this obstacle by choosing to have the conversation now. The long-awaited conversation with your boss, your wife, your financial advisor. Conversations supported by powerful questions will help you move towards actionable results.
Conscious action is the map that takes you from where you are now to where you want to be. It is fueled by heightened awareness. As an expert in Business Transformation, I work with multi-national corporations to transform their business which is especially critical in the digital age. Today, transformation is further complicated by growing social unrest and the changing landscape created by the current pandemic. My experience has confirmed that the success of any large-scale transformation starts with the individual, the essence of the mind, to move from idea to action. The infusion of transforming self needs to be threaded along various levels of the organization. A single individual armed with an unclarified perspective could derail the success of an entire program.
Acting with consciousness does not necessarily come naturally. It takes mindful steps not to circumvent or go around a challenge. It takes a strong mindset and a certain level of taking the challenge head on. Barriers show up in many different ways and the key to overcoming is to rely on your heightened awareness and act decisively.
It is my belief that the stories we create in our heads and do not share with others are not only mightier than us, they are also action killers. On the contrary, when you engage in meaningful conversations to share your stories, thoughts and fears, you create the baseline to spur action. Seeing thoughts turn into action provides mental clarity and excitement. It provides increased confidence in speech, attitude and presence. Your voice is amplified. When this happens, you become more of you and this when you are at your best.
Start now. Shift from a state of heightened awareness to one of consciousness leading to action. Nelson Mandela said it best, “It always seems impossible until it’s done”.
