The Great Awakening: Your Personal and Professional Life is About Finding and Creating Yourself
In my work, I help organizations reimagine the future, exploring opportunities for innovation in operations, service, experience, and products and service. More and more, I’m being asked to help executives challenge their own conventions, to help inspire open mindsets, creativity, and imagination, to help leaders see new possibilities for transformation and innovation. This is a unique moment in time where we can all benefit from these exercises, to not just create a new normal, but a better future for ourselves, our colleagues, our customers, and our loved ones.
As we were all thrust into a digital-first world, where everything was suddenly defined by working, learning, shopping, and leisure from home and in hybrid models, now’s the time to hit CTRL-ALT-DEL. This is a rare “meaning of life” moment in time where we don’t have to get back to yesterday’s normal. The world is changing, people are changing, and we have a say and the ability to create a new, brighter future that wasn’t possible before.
I used to say that if we’re waiting for someone to tell us what to do, we’re on the wrong side of transformation and innovation.
This is the time to ask and answer transformative questions. This is the time to recenter ourselves to reimagine whatever normal comes next. We cannot be our best selves to our loved ones, our colleagues, or ourselves, if we are not willing to demonstrate that change starts right here, right now, with us.
What do we want to do differently? Who do we want to become? What do we want to create?
To be mindful about the change we want to see in ths world is also to be mindful of the change we want to see in ourselves.
The last few years have been disruptive, fast, constant, and demanding in its evolution. We adapted. We’re still adapting. We’re learning that we can indeed change and become resilient for future change.
As we craft the next chapter in life and work, ask yourself, who were you before March of 2020? Who have you become during these times of disruption? Who do you see yourself becoming, who do you want to be, and what role do you want to play in defining this new world?
Once we can appreciate your journey to where you are today, you can then be intentional about what comes next.
The world is starting to open back up. Some will embrace a semblance of yesterday’s normalcy, some will regress, and others will rise to become the leaders of tomorrow…today. But not you. If we do not see new possibilities, we will have missed the lesson, and the opportunity in these disruptive times.
Take pause, reflect, and visualize the next chapter of your journey.
Charting a New Path Forward
The future isn’t what it used to be. This is both a challenge and an opportunity.
We all were recruited into this pandemic equally. But we have a say in how we emerge differently.
With every disruption, there is an opportunity for growth. And with that growth, there is also an opportunity, a responsibility, for invention and innovation.
Consider who you are in life and also work. What comes next is the effort you decide to make in how you scale your life forward in every aspect that matters to you and those around you.
It’s time to rewrite the story of you, who you are, who you’re becoming, and who you see yourself creating in the future. This is beneficial to shaping your personal and professional lives, to move forward with purpose and conviction to inspire change within and around you, at every level. When it comes to change, as they say, “it takes a village.”
Selfie-Discovery 🔎
Start with three foundational questions:
- Who was I and who was I becoming before March 2020?
- Who have I become during the pandemic? Observe the differences between now and then for better and for worse.
- Taking this new opportunity, ask yourself, who do I truly want to become as the world opens up?
Consider that in each of these questions, you can answer in the various roles and responsibilities you have in life. For example, I’ve lead groups through this exercise as parents, colleagues, friends and significant others, executive leaders, and sales, service, and success professionals. While connected, the answers and the work required become unique in each dynamic.
Now, create a 2-by-2 categorized as follows:
On the x-axis, chart…
What were the areas about you that you hoped to improve?
What were the positive developments you realized?
On the y-axis, chart…
Who were you before 2020 disruption?
How did you change in 2020–2022
This is meant to guide reflection on who you were becoming and who you’ve become recently. Be thoughtful, honest, and specific.
Take some time to explore what aspects of your pre-pandemic and lockdown life you feel like you could or should leave behind.
Ask yourself, which aspects of your pre- and pandemic life do you enjoy and would really miss if you had to leave them behind in the great reopening?
It’s not meant to be easy. It’s also not meant to be solved in one sitting.
Selfie-Creation 🔜
For the next step, create a second 2-by-2. This section is meant to reflect upon who are you becoming today, either intentionally or unintentionally. The goal is to align today’s intentions with tomorrow’s aspirations.
On the x-axis, chart…
What are the immediate areas that require attention now?
What are the skills or goals you need on the horizon?
On the y-axis, chart…
The Evolving You: Who you are becoming today
The Aspirational You: Who you see yourself becoming
Who you are becoming today is a work in progress. There are areas for development and there are areas that require attention. There are also aspects that are ok to leave behind if they’re not in alignment with the evolving or aspirational version of the ideal you.
Now it’s time to carry forward those personal and professional attributes now and in the near-term. This is your foundation for the evolving you and a future you in the great reopening.
Consider all the possibilities and aspirations you imagined for yourself in every dimension of life.
Maybe those thoughts started with…
What if…
I wonder what would happen if…
Someday, I…
I’d really love to…
The goal here is to create a variety of scenarios for ourselves in what we choose to embody now and in the future, personally and professionally. It’s a simple but important visualization of the traits we intentionally decide to leave behind, those we embrace going forward, areas of opportunity and possiblity, and those characteristics we aspire to personify.
This is Our Ctrl-Alt-Del Moment
These times are anything but a ‘new normal.’ This isn’t a race toward normalcy. It’s a moment of transition, and reflection, to become the best version of ourselves and build the future we really want.
Use these guides to begin with the short-term, but plan for the long-term.
What should you start to leave behind?
What should you start to practice more every day?
What do you need to make room for in your life now and over time?
How will you document progress, and reward yourself, in each front?
How can those around you help you? Are you surrounded by the people who want you to succeed?
Following this exercise, know who it is you are and who you are becoming. Surround yourself with people who support you and challenge you to be your best along the way. Think of it as a “personal board of advisors” for the new “You, Inc.”
Remember, even though you can’t change the people around you, you can change the people you keep around you.
This is the beginning of scaling your life in a more positive, productive, and happier direction. And with a growth mindset, you can continue to unlearn, learn, and grow, all while finding happiness and bringing new possibilities to life in your journey.
The future isn’t what it used to be, but it can be everything you can imagine.
