When I first heard this ‘theory’ I was a little blown away.
The ramifications of this insight were profound for me and my clients. What I am going to do is to share this insight with you, which each of you will ‘get’ to varying degrees, and then I will share some scenario’s so you can see how it plays out in real life, in real time.
Do you want me to get on with it already??? 😉
What has got you to where you are today, may be the very thing holding you back from getting to your next level. Just let that sink in and read it one more time.
What has got you to where you are today, may be the very thing holding you back from getting to your next level.
This is a profound opportunity at self-awareness and from self-awareness is the very real probability of growth, IF you take action. 😉
How it plays out in real life
Scenario 1:
There is a business manager who has achieved a high level of professional achievement because they are very good at planning, because they are very good at paying attention to all the minor details and making sure there are no gaps. However they are pretty big on this attention to detail thing to the extent they are a bit controlling. They need to know all the intricate details to move forward. They have been at the same level within the organisation for some time and can’t work out why they have not made it to the next level.
Just maybe, to get to the next level they need to have a broader perspective. They need to see a bigger picture and not get distracted by the minor details. Maybe they need to be more of a risk taker and lean into uncertainty. Maybe they need to be more creative, and get out of their left-brain thinking and get more into a bit of right-brain stuff.
Can you relate to this or know someone like this?
Scenario 2:
This person has always been the peace-maker. They can diffuse the biggest amount of disharmony in individuals and groups. They are great at making everyone feel comfortable.
But maybe the next level for them is a career change to Coaching where they actually need to make people feel uncomfortable. They need to ask a client questions that no-one else asks, in order for the client to grow. Because just like in the gym, for our muscles to grow we need to experience discomfort. So for their clients to get to their next level, they need to embrace the opposite of what they did before. Their old way of reducing discomfort, might be holding them back from going to the next level.
This is our personal evolution and not unlike a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. We might need to embrace change (aka evolution) if we want to experience what life has to offer, it a bigger way.
CAVEAT
I just want to add this point. This change does not mean we have to throw away everything from our past. All our skills and experiences. We can still bring ‘some’ of them forward with us. But we might need to tone some down, upgrade others, and put some in the recycle bin.
Scenario 3:
I just talked with a client yesterday. This client is an MBA graduate and works in PR, social media and supporting entrepreneurial businesses with growth and expansion. We talked about their next level. It involved boats, the ocean, and a very different direction. To date this person has relied on structure, conventional learning, and following a set series of steps, where all their successes rested on an amount of sweat and hard work.I suggested something radical for them to create the next level. I suggested to them to move forward with a 70-80% complete plan and to put some faith in the unknown. I told them to plan as much as they can, but be ok with stepping off with some uncertainty (more than they are used to). I suggested saying some prayers, which for me (aside from any spiritual beliefs), means priming the subconscious part of the brain (in particular the reticular activating system (RAS)) to be hyper-vigilant to people, situations, and opportunities, that will allow them to co-create the next level they want.
I know a lot of people are held back from their own next level because they think they need to have a 100% complete plan on HOW it is going to happen. The reality is life is bigger than all of us, and has a way of messing with the best laid and intentioned plans. Are you holding yourself back because you have an incomplete plan?
The Carl Massy Scenario:
I would say – and my girlfriend Ferry would definitely agree with this – that I can be a little intense at times. This intensity has been great for contact sports. It was great for in the army. It was even great professionally to get stuff done. But being intense may not help me deliver the best fun, enlightening, transformative and engaging seminars or workshops. Being intense also does not help with creativity and stress dissipation.
So in my case to go to the next level professionally as a speaker and trainer, I may need to lighten up more. I may still tap into a bit of intensity to develop and create the presentations (to get them done), but then I tone down the intensity when it is time to deliver. I need to be conscious enough to choose what behaviour I need for different times. This is what self-awareness and mindfulness is all about. It is about applying different approaches for different situations, rather than behaving the same way you always do, all of the time.
One of my strategies to tone down and become more aware of the intensity thing is what I said in the opening PS. I connect to the words ‘Slow, Calm and Deliberate’ lots of times through the day. Whether it is walking, talking, cleaning my teeth, typing this, riding my scooter, or washing my hands. I like this statement: How I do anything is how I do everything. That is why I start with the small stuff, which is easier to change.
Now let’s talk about YOU. Yes you. Don’t skip this bit, you chicken. That’s it. Step up to the plate and take your gaze inwards.
If you are a high-performer who wants the most from life, this is the bit where you pick up a pen and find a piece of paper.
What is your next level?
(What’s it look like? What does it feel like? How does it sound? Play here for awhile.)
Now…what has got to where you are now, that might be holding you back from getting to the next level, or taking the next step, or making a radical change?
What might you have to change or do differently to get to your next level? Who would you need to become? What resources might you need? What skills do you need to learn or refine?
Can you see now how you can CO-CREATE your Destiny?
(You now know that it is our stories that create our lives, rather than the other way around. But we can consciously change our stories).My Final Words
I know you have got this and I truly hope that you take the time to get inside that head and heart of yours to put pen to paper. Or to really fire up that magical mind of yours. I know none of us has seen the best of you yet!
So here is to seeing even more of the best version of you and your life’s story.
Enjoy!! 😉
As always, please ask questions of me, or share your thoughts in a response email or by putting a post on Facebook or on my Blog. Plus please share these very practical Tips and Strategies with your friends and family. Pay it forward and you might just change someone’s life with an insight that is just right for them, right now.