Taking Action for Change
Change happens as a result of action. I had to take action to write about taking action!
Once you have developed a sense of curiosity, and used it to identify the choices that are available to you, then comes the time for action. The simplest form of action is turning choice in to a decision. It is something that we all do, all of the time, without even realising it.
When we spend time analysing our own internal world, we are able to identify the areas where we need to grow; we are identifying what we can choose to focus on.
We see what we choose to focus on.
Once we evaluate the priority of our growth areas, we can then decide which one we want to start work on first. A decision in this sense is a personal commitment to take action.
When this happens, we have taken the first action on our journey to taking action.
Action creates a kind of snowball effect. Once you take action and curiously analyse the outcomes, you then identify the next set of choices that are available to make your next decision. Much like being honest, being decisive is a skill. The more you do it the easier it becomes. When you combine taking action with being curious and accepting responsibility, you have a cyclical process that gains momentum over time.
Risk
Action is risky though. It is scary. It opens up the possibility of both success and failure.
Let’s say that you reflect and identify that you often let anger cloud your decision making and effect your social relationships, you may decide that you want to prioritise this as a growth area. You decide to set some goals starting with trying to not get angry in a meeting at work with a particular individual that has been extremely challenging to date. You go in to your next meeting full of optimism but then it descends in to a rather heated confrontation. And… You failed.
Time to learn!
Action is doing something to achieve an aim. Sometimes you will not achieve that aim. That is ok though, in fact, it is good and healthy. Remember when we looked at our definition of strength?…
Embrace
Competition, failure and loss are all things that we can learn to embrace, and learn to learn from. It is only though our awareness of where we fall short that we are able to identify where we need to focus our efforts to grow. Accepting failure, and where appropriate seeing it as a challenge, is also a skill.
I am grateful for the people that I have met throughout my life that have contributed to the circumstances where I have not behaved optimally (I had to choose my words carefully there!). They have been my greatest teachers.
Show me a person that has never failed, and I will show you a person that has never tried.
Moving Forwards
Being the change is all about identifying the change you want to be and having the right strategy to achieve it. You develop the right strategy by being curious, accepting responsibility and taking action.
Action creates action. Being willing to risk failure is the only way we can achieve our goals.
Leading ourselves, by our own example,
to be the change that we want to see in the world.
This post brings to a conclusion the Be the Change series. You can find the other posts here:
Taking Responsibility for Change
Enjoy, for now.