Helping Leaders Own Who They Are

I have a question for you. It may sound a little odd at first, but in a few minutes I trust that it will make more sense.

What space are you not creating, and how are you making sure of that?

A few weeks ago, I found myself getting very busy with what I do. I began to serve more people, and as a result I got more people to serve. I was very excited. I also started to feel a little nervous, a little anxious. I could feel the pressure building up; I could see the deadlines getting tighter and tighter; I could notice my agenda filling up as I was striving to accommodate everything and everyone.

I felt that it was more, and more, and more, and that I would soon reach a point where it would simply not fit in my calendar anymore. There were simply not enough hours in the day. How was I going to manage? I caught myself running between meetings, rushing into conversations, jumping on calls and struggling to keep up with my personal research and growth. And this was after I had already banned from my schedule moments to dedicate to health and well-being… It was stressful, and the worst part of it was: I believed this was the right thing to do. I believed this process was a necessary part of building my dream.

Then one day I thought to myself: “What am I doing? This is ridiculous! These are new opportunities I am facing. Why am I allowing myself to be stressed and anxious, when it shows that things are going well and better every day?”

And then it started to dawn on me.

I was not creating space. I was not creating the necessary space to design the life that I really wanted to lead.

Most of us make this mistake. We make ourselves busy. We rationalise and justify our actions by comparing our day-to-day to what we believe a “successful” life ought to be. We are constantly seeking to comply with two very simple premises. Either we do what we do because we have to, or we do what we do because we like to.

Striving for success and following the flawed paradigm of our time leaves us with little time and space to actually connect with our inner truth. What is it that you truly want to create in your life? What is it that you really want to live? How do you want to really be in the world? Who do you want to help? Who do you love?

We often don’t remember the key questions of our existence because we don’t create the space to. We make ourselves become volatile; we choose to become this particle, thrown around in the hyperactivity of society. Many diseases of our time benefit from this mistake we make. Instead, I urge you to make a different choice. I urge you to choose to remember these questions.

I created space that day. I made clear and bold decisions. I slowed my activity down. I restructured my calendar. I said “no” when I needed to. I chose to feel uncomfortable because I knew it was the right thing to do. And you know what the funny part is? I have accomplished so much more since then! So now, let me ask you again.

What space are you not creating and how are you making sure of that?