Unlocking Potential with the Power of Wonder and Curiosity
In my last blog post, I shared my discovery of the importance of returning to ME @ 3 (‘ME’ is a concept I explore in my book, In Search of Safe Brave Spaces. It’s an internal search to rediscover your unique purpose, gifts, and contribution). I told the chapter of my journey where connecting with the powerful wonder and curiosity of 3-year-old me was key to unlocking potential.
The more I remember the mindset of that 3-year-old Greg, the more I see and experience each moment. I believe that this is a powerful foundation. Our life experiences build upon the base laid in childhood to create our unique view and contribution to the world.
I also recently read that the chances of us being born are 1 in 400 trillion. This fact astounds me. It reinforces a belief I’ve had from a very young age; we are all here for a purpose, and each of us has a unique contribution and perspective. Like the snowflake analogy, we are unique, shaped by our individual journey and yet also connected. This is made even more amazing when we are linked with others.
We’re All Individual Pixels in an Amazing TV
The fullest expression of this joy, being unique within a community, comes when we maximize our unique contribution in combination with the shared contribution of others. This was best revealed to me through a story shared by a spiritual director that counselled me through an exploration of my faith a few years ago.
She described the world as the most amazing digital television monitor which is made up of millions of individual pixels. When fully lit, they provide the clearest and most beautiful picture.
She suggested that each of us represents one of these pixels and that if one is not fully shining brightly, it inhibits the fullest expression of the picture. Our opportunity, she suggested, was to discover and fully shine our light while leveraging the shared energy from the other lights. This story really resonated with me and inspired my journey to fully discovering ME.
Learning from the Inspired Growth Program
Early in my career, I was fortunate to help develop a program called the ‘Inspired Growth Program’. This leadership program was based upon the belief that at the core of all great leaders is self-awareness and an abundance mindset.
This program provided a number of frameworks, tools, and assessments to deepen awareness and help capture each person’s unique way of contributing to the world. Over the years I have evolved this process, for myself and others, and have identified five key questions to help guide this discovery.
Five Key Questions to Help Guide the Discovery of Your Unique Way of Contributing to the World
In my book and on my website, I provide details of these questions as well as supporting tools to help work through them. I also share the Being ME Profile, a one-pager that captures ME (your unique purpose, gifts, and contribution).
The five questions which help populate your Being ME Profile are:
What do I bring (my unique skills, attributes & gifts)?
What do I care about most (my values & passions)?
How do I work best (my unique approach to getting things done)?
What gets in my way (my blockers, triggers, biases & shifts required)?
Where and how do I want to impact (my personal contribution commitment)?
The answers to these 5 questions provide a ‘touchstone’ and a ‘compass’ to guide you on your journey to enabling Safe Brave Spaces within yourself, your relationships, and in your communities.
Review Your Being ME Profile Weekly
I find it helpful to review my Being ME Profile weekly on Sunday nights as I begin to prepare for my week. This helps to ground me in who I am at my best and how I want to show up to more consistently shine my pixel bright.
I also keep it close at hand, on my iPad under my ‘maximize ME’ folder in Notability, to help stabilize my Mindstorms when I find myself in conflict or churn (moments of failure and learning).
One Last Observation
One last observation that I have discovered over the years is that, like any compass, my Being ME Profile needs to be recalibrated based on new awareness and learnings. At a minimum, I annually reflect, revise and re-energize my Being ME profile through a simple process of inquiry, first with myself and then within my inner circle (a small group of friends who are fully transparent, supportive, and respectfully direct).
This process helps me explore both joy (moments of growth and discovery) and churn (moments of failure and learning). The insights from these areas are powerful accelerators to both my safe brave space and my personal contribution.
For more information and support in the journey towards discovering ME, get my book, In Search of Safe Brave Spaces: A Guide to Unlocking and Releasing Potential, or explore tools and other blog posts on my website: www.safebravespaces.com.
I hope this helped you on your journey to discovering your unique purpose, gifts, and contribution!