Clarify the difference you want to make in this world – Build on the totem exercise to translate hope into action
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Why take this challenge?
Translate your values into clear goals, direction and statements of intent
Align your impact and influence with the difference you want to be in the World
Create a direction that makes you proud in what you achieve
In last week’s adventure – Carve your Totem – we looked at values, and what is most important to you. We talked about what it means to value, and the role of sacrifice therein.
In this week’s adventure we will be building on this. We will be working to identify the direction you want to take, and the difference you want to make in respect of your values. The mark you want to leave on this World.
It seems appropriate to include this just before the end of this series of adventures.
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Immediate value
Take a look back at your values from last week – the things that are important to you. Is there one in which you could make a real practical difference right now? Something you could choose to do differently in the next 15 minutes. A choice which could contribute in some tangible way to making progress on that value.
If so, the green track is ‘just do it’. Make a choice right now to do something differently that will make an impact.
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Threshold of Pride
Review your values from last week, and consider which you feel is the most pressing for you to build upon in the coming year. The one you would most like to have made a difference in over the next 12 months.
Then imagine yourself at the end of the coming year, reflecting back on your direction and progress on this value, and the position you want to be in at the end. What is your threshold of pride? What needs to have been achieved for you to begin to feel proud of what you did?
Write up your answer, and stick it somewhere that you will reflect on it at the beginning of each day. Commit to refreshing your mind with the direction you feel right now each time you see this definition.
That’s it. Do this religiously and you may be suprised as to the progress you make. Our subconscious behaves teleologically, it becomes more alert to things we deliberately focus on. Many people first become aware of this phenomena when they hear a ‘new’ word for the first time, and have someone explain it to them. They are then surprised by the coincidence of hearing it again shortly after. Except it is not coincidence. It is just that our subconscious is more sensitised to picking it up.
In respect of our goals, this same effect makes us more likely to spot related opportunities. We become what we think most about.
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Systemic Values
The blue track can help you make more progress than you might imagine. And yet, if your values really are something so important to you that you desire to make sacrifices for them? Then you might prefer to ensure those sacrifices come together in an efficient and effective plan of action.
The red track is about applying the direction provided by the blue track in a more comprehensive and systematic manner. To describe success around more of your most important values. And to develop a personal action plan to deliver that.
Begin with extending your threshold(s) of pride to encompass all of your values as you have defined them. Then work out the ‘what, when, where and how’ of getting there. If what you need to do is obvious then it is just a matter of determining your will and your schedule. But if it is more complex you might find the pack resources useful.
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You may find the following resources helpful in tackling your challenge or in gaining further benefits from the skills and insights you develop
- Forcefield Analysis helps map the influences on you in successfully delivering your values.
- Why How Charting enables you to better see the connections between your values and your goals.
- Strategic engagement matrix enables you to systematically and strategically support your values through your ways of working.
- Threshold of Pride helps you to identify the best level of achievement (for you) in all of this.
To catch up on past adventures you may have missed, feel free to browse our Adventures Library
Let us know how you get on.
Share your experience, your insights and your observation using the comments section at the bottom of the Linkedin post.
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Useful links:
Adventures to date | I did it, but it didn’t work very well | How do I know if it is working
Bringing this thinking into your meetings | Adventure & Mental Health
Leading by Adventure community | Explore Strategic Support options