Do You Know What You Know?

“It’s not knowing what to do, it’s doing what you know.” ~Tony Robbins

Knowing.  I’ve been sitting with this word for a bit.  Wondering what it is that I actually know for sure.  There are a few things.  For example, I know that when I’m feeling stressed, finding a peaceful space — even if it simply means turning off the radio in the car — always helps.  I know how to write, how to speak, and how to coach.  I know that I LOVE to write, and to speak, and to coach.  I know that playing a game of Jenga with my kids is a whole lot of fun.  And I know that very little beats an evening winter’s walk, with the snow falling in huge flakes, followed by a cup of hot chocolate in front of the fireplace.  These are some of the things I know for sure.

In Tony Robbins’ quote above, he basically states that knowing what to do is less important than doing what you know.  Do you do what you know?  My sense is that, what he’s pointing to is the answer to the question that so many hold — what should I do with my life?  According to his quote, it’s really not about what you choose to do, it’s about choosing to base your doing in what you know.  So, the question comes full circle and asks you to look at what you know.  My head could actually spin a little if I sat with this for too long.

When I look at my short list above of “what I know”, and I translate that into a “things to do” list, the bottom-line is this:  what I know is that I’m good at certain things, and that I also love doing those things.  So those are the things I need to do.  Tony Robbins doesn’t say anything about loving what you do; and yet, I assert that in addition to doing what you know, it’s vital to do what you love.  Doing what you know is great; doing what you love is great; doing what you know AND love is phenomenal.  When you do what you know and love, work is rarely work — it feels more like play.  This is the zone in which you can confidently say I love what I do, I do what I love, and I get paid to do it — life is good (or great!).

Bottom-line: if you don’t know the answer yet, take a moment to unearth it.  Ask yourself the question, what do I know? Then ask, what do I love of what I know?  And finally, I can I do what I know and love?  Do that, and your world will transform.

Who Are You Going to Believe?

“Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong.  There are always difficulties arising which tempt you to believe that your critics are right.  To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires courage.”

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I’ve got some great ideas, of this I’m sure.  I’m a strong, confident woman with a keen intuitive sense of what is needed in various situations.  I totally trust my gut — I don’t think it’s ever steered me wrong.  And yet, I find myself questioning what I know from time to time.  It’s so bizarre.  And then, when I read the above quote by Emerson I realized that this sort of questioning probably happens more often than I care to admit, and that I’ve absolutely had to be courageous to do some of the things I’ve chosen to do — like start my own company.

This whole idea — the idea that following the path that you carve out for yourself will be met with resistance and therefore requires courage –  feels novel somehow.  And wrong.  I guess what feels wrong specifically is the idea that we question each other and our choices.  What’s funny, as I sit with this, is that I think we only question our own choices when someone else questions them first.

So now, the question that’s coming up for me is this:  is the self-doubt a bad thing?  The introspection that has you evaluate from time to time?  My intuitive answer is “nope.”  I don’t think the introspection is wrong — until and unless it takes you right off your path.  I think there’s a way that you’ve got to hold both — the possibility that you’re wrong along with the belief that you’re right.  And then there’s the third thing to hold, which is the willingness to change or modify your plans if in fact you are wrong in some way. Weird.

I guess the bottom-line realization for me this morning is this:  I am willing to entertain the doubts, whether mine or someone else’s for a brief time.  After that, however, unless something has radically changed, I’m going to believe and trust my intuition and follow the path that I believe to be right for me.  This is an ability I’ve developed, the ability to know what needs to be done.  It may not look or feel right to you; it may not be what you would choose; and that’s okay.  I’ll trust that you know your path, and I know mine and all will be good.

Drawing a Blank

Woke up this morning with more energy than I have in the last few weeks.  A good feeling.  Got down to work fairly quickly, prepping the kids for school, finishing touches on lunches, eating breakfast — you know the drill.  All good stuff, great time to connect and be with each other.

Then, I settled down to follow up emails.  Some great stuff to respond to, including making it through to the “next stage” of the application process for an upcoming leadership conference.  Aiming to be the keynote — it would be an absolute fit for me and them, and I was thrilled to start my day with the news that I’m in the running!  Followed this with some gratitude and visioning, before launching into client calls — love it when client calls go where they least expect to go AND they make breakthroughs and have insights that will move them forward.  Feeling blessed to do this work.

Then, a bit of social media stuff.  Another way of staying connected.  Noticing a connection theme for me as a leader.  Feels important to maintain connections — make new ones, build upon old ones, etc; — when striving to breathe life into my leadership vision.  And now, I’m drawing a blank.  I know what I want to do next — that is, I know what project could benefit from my attention.  And, I don’t know exactly what to do.  Even as I write this, I have a sense that the answer lies in the connection piece — but not solely in outward connection.  There’s a way in which I actually need to go inward first, connect to my inner knowing, then turn my attention outward, connect and create from there.

My sense is that leaders from all walks of life have this challenge, at least periodically.  There’s a way in which the answer can sometimes be elusive — which can be frustrating when we’re feeling the pressure to be in the know, constantly.  And so, I’m just owning here and now that sometimes, I don’t know.  And that’s okay.  Sometimes, it’s easier to create on a blank canvas anyway.  That’s where I’m at today.  Onward and upward.