Either Way, You’ll Be Right #154
Abundance. It’s easy to forget there’s more than enough of everything when you focus on what you don’t have.
I see it every day with teams as we check in quarterly regarding their goals for the year. For those measuring on a calendar year, it often happens around June or September. They look at their progress relative to the goals they have for year-end and often will recognize they are off track when it comes to completing the goal they intended by the end of the year.
While this is an honest accounting of what’s so in-the-moment, it’s interesting to find teams explaining why it won’t happen. And if we let the conversation continue, that story would play out to be true. They are living in a scarcity mindset. There’s not enough ___________ – you fill in the blank. Most often, it’s time, money, energy, or resources.
That’s BS. There’s always more than enough. The question is, can you access it? Are you willing to be uncomfortable? Are you willing to do what it takes to honor your word and complete what you promised? If so, you need to question your assumptions. My favorite two questions when scarcity is showing up are “How can/could you?” and “How will/would you?”
Asking those questions moves you to a space of possibility, a place of openness and creativity. Explaining, excusing, justifying, telling stories, blaming, and reasoning will never make it happen. If you leave your thinking there, you’re not a leadership team. As Will Smith says, “Being realistic is the most commonly traveled road to mediocrity.”
So, what will you focus on, what is so, or what could be? Either way, you’ll be right.