5 Facets of Forward Action

There will never be a “new normal.” What was normal before COVID 19? Why do we want a new one? Instead of grasping for a new normal (usual, typical or expected), why not commit to forward action and a life of adventure?

The past can be a helpful source of lessons and comfort. However, the only time that exists is the present. You cannot change what has happened and you cannot predict the future. That doesn’t mean you can’t aim high for the future using the 5 facets of forward action:

1. Focus – Where you are going? The two major filters in your brain are fear and goals. By defining your focus, you grab hold of your neural circuitry. Be specific in defining your focus with clear goals. What are you doing now and what are you doing next? Focus helps the brain avoid the fear filter and get oriented to action.
2. Action – What you are doing? Don’t confuse motion (doing something to stay busy) with action (moving forward toward your focus to accomplish goals). There is something powerful about small actions toward your goals. Check out our Action Tracker for capturing your daily actions in service of your focus.
3. Intention – How you are doing it? If you have taken the time to define your life purpose or vision and your personal values, pause and consider how you are living them out. Forward action without intention can create results but destroy relationships. Consider the way you take action and do it with purposeful intention.
4. Time – Connection with yourself and others is essential. Leaders need time to think, they need time to be with themselves and they need time with others. Many people talk about priorities and put family and friends at the top of the list. How does your calendar reflect this priority?
5. Hope (H – Hold >>> O – On >>> P – Pain >>> E – Ends) Hope is an optimistic state of mind. When you expect positive outcomes for circumstances in your life or the world around you, you are practicing hope. Your mindset matters, will you focus on the pain or the possibility? Maintain a hopeful perspective to keep moving forward in the face of fear, uncertainty and doubt (the FUD Factor.)

Fear limits your focus, paralyzes potential, obliterates optimism and sabotages success. Apply these 5 facets of forward action to feel the fear and do it anyway! Leadership is not easy. You may be facing impossible choices and agonizing decisions. To triumph over fear, you must face it and conquer it.

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.

– Nelson Mandela