High Performance Leadership

Have you ever fooled yourself into a limited choice? We fool ourselves endlessly and don't always know it. Narrowed choices that lock us in dispute. There are always other choices. The possibilities are endless. Let go of the tight grip you've got on that goal and another goal will likely appear. Clarify. Expand. Breathe. We trick ourselves into sacrificing what we really want for something that feels like an obligation. I'm not saying to ditch your responsibilities. Do keep your commitments. Be responsible. Just don't be recklessly limiting in your scope, in your promise, in your possibilities. What if you didn't need to sacrifice what you really want? What if sacrifice is a false choice? -- Doug Smith

What holds you back the most? For me, it's often that I over-analyze. I want to be sure. I calculate possibilities and assess risks so much that the energy can drain right out of the moment. And, when the moment is gone, we can lose the opportunity. I'm working past that. I'm not quite at the point of the movie "Yes Man" (a great flick and a step in the direction of take the action, do the thing, just say yes!) but I'm better than before. Isn't that our job? To get better than before. To grow more. To keep going in the direction that set off in, to make things better? You've got limitations. I've got limitations. All G-d's children have limitations. It's out job to grow beyond our limitations. -- Doug Smith

What's holding you back? We all have things that try to hold us back. They stand in our way looking formidable, even when they are simply flimsy excuses. They wall us in. Maybe it's that touch of anger that creeps into your voice when a team member lets you down. Maybe it's that fear of the unknown that keeps me from calling a potential client. We've all got stuff. Limitations feel like boundaries, but they are not.  We can not only navigate our limitations, we can break thru them and grow past them. In essence, as leaders, that's part of our job. Grow beyond your limitations. I'm going to work on that this week. How about you? -- Doug Smith

Do you focus mainly on possibilities or on limitations? We need people who focus on limitations so that we can determine how to overcome them or avoid frustrating our efforts. We need people who focus on possibilities because the answers are out there, we just need to find them. There are always better ways to communicate. There are always better solutions. There are always new ways to bring joy and to reduce suffering. These are all in the possibilities that we develop. I'd much rather talk about possibilities than limitations . Often, by expanding possibilities we overcome what we had perceived to be as limitations. We can get creative. We can patiently pursue perfection without judging our imperfections. Possibilities are our future. Without thinking critically of those who think critically, I like the expanded (and expanding) view. What's your view? -- Doug Smith