Here’s a paradox of our times:
Most of us yearn for opportunities to bring spirit into our lives (whatever that may mean for each of us). But, most of us lack the courage to bring spirit to the one place where we spend most of our time – work.
Generally speaking, we are very successful, in many ways, in organizations. But imagine what we could achieve if work was inspiring.
Because our organizations are so often uninspiring and our work fails to nourish our soul, more than three-quarters of employees work in environments that are unfulfilling, draining and uninspiring. This isn’t what we all had hoped for, nor what we yearn for.
To live a fulfilled life and create work environments that are inspiring and nourishing for the soul requires courage – the courage to say, “I want work to be inspiring; I want my work to be a soulful experience; and to achieve this, I must be the one who goes first”.
I define courage as “Reaching beyond the boundaries of our existing limitations, fears, and beliefs” – and it is the first of the CASTLE® Principles. It is the first because nothing happens until we are courageous enough to make it happen – we can’t say sorry, tell someone we love them, ask for help, admit that we do not know, set an example, or go first, unless first, we are courageous.
There Are Three Steps to Being Courageous
- Making a personal commitment to a set of higher principles
- Being aware and accepting of the risks involved in living by those principles
- Being willing to accept the consequences of those risks.
Consider how you might raise your level of courage today, and by doing so, raise the level of inspiration in your organization – and therefore the organization’s performance – and therefore how you change the world. It starts with each one of us. And if not you, then who?
How timely! Because while I feel I had to be courageous when I decided to leave my income safety to launch a zero building waste initiative I truly felt was needed and was taking over my heart and soul, I couldn’t have imagined how courageous i would have to be once well into the journey when I actually have to deal with the risks and consequences.
My questions these days often revolve around things like:
What is the difference between courageous and suicidal or naive and stupid?
Does courageous mean never stopping?…
That said, I’m digging deep and soldering on, inspired by so many other courageous people – and I guess hoping to find some guidance here