Episode 62: Medicine vs. Magic (in Leadership + Life)
It’s in the Magic
The tools and strategies are the medicine. Mind management is the magic.
Enjoy!
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(The notes below are only a brief summary of what is discussed in the podcast. Be sure to listen to get all of the goodness! If you would like a full transcription of the episode, please send an email request to: angie@angie-robinson.com. We’d be happy to provide that!)
As I start talking about this topic – you’re probably going to wonder what this has to do with leadership, entrepreneurship or just you in general. Hang with me – I promise I will be making a connection!
I have become someone who doesn’t love riding in boats. As someone who lives in the land of 10000 lakes, that can be a problem. I do tend to feel some motion sickness – so there is a physical reaction to the motion itself. And that is probably where my general apprehension comes from.
Something else comes along with the motion sickness. It’s anxiety. I can get onto a pontoon in the summer where there are no visual issues (i.e. waves or wind) - it can be a perfectly lovely day, and I start to do things like examine the waves, the wind, how many other boats might be in the area, etc. I start to dip into the ‘what if’ and think about past experiences on boats. My focus becomes on all of the unhelpful things and I risk missing out on the good stuff ahead.
So - I just got back from a cruise. My family and I went on Disney Cruise for our Spring Break vacation. There were two things that got my brain going into overdrive as we planned and then approached the vacation: the fact that I was going to be on a big ship in the middle of the ocean (would I feel it moving? would I get sick?) and the fact that we had to take smaller boats on some of our excursions.
There are medicines that can be taken to help alleviate and even prevent motion sickness. But that is only one part of the equation for me. There is also the feeling of anxiety that comes along.
The antidote for the anxiety is awareness. Awareness that my thoughts are actually the thing causing the feeling (in this case – anxiety).
Now – let me tie this analogy back to leadership and entrepreneurship.
To be a more effective leader or to start and run your own business – there is a lot of ‘medicine’ available. Strategies, tools, trainings that you can pick up right off the shelf. And there are plenty of different brands, styles and price-points.
This is all good and it is all important.
But where the magic is – what will make the biggest, most effective, meaningful and sustainable difference in how you show up as a leader or in your business - is self-awareness.
There is so much that is under that self-awareness umbrella: understanding what your innate strengths are, what your areas of improvement and blind spots are, how you land on others, what your values are, what the future version of yourself looks like, what your beliefs and limiting beliefs are and what your level self-confidence and self-trust is.
And the foundation for all of it – the magic of all the magic – is managing your own mind! Awareness of your thoughts and how they are or are not serving you!
You can adopt and use the most amazing frameworks, tools, systems, and apps. Just like the motion sickness medicine….they can be vehicles for improved productivity or help you frame conversations or help you build trust or communicate effectively or manage time or delegate or plan for change…..that is all good and helpful.
And knowing that there are so many options available – you would think that each one of us would be the most effective, productive and inspirational leaders and entrepreneur.s Here is where, in my experience, we might flounder a bit. Besides the fact that we all have different experiences and talents, we all also have different thoughts. Those that have strong self-belief, self-confidence, helpful thoughts and know how to manage their mind will be more likely to be ‘impactful”, “successful” leaders.
For example – let’s say an area you are working on is delegation. You’ve embraced the tips and frameworks for how to delegate. The four steps, the five principles, the 3 golden rules…. But when it comes down to actually being an effective delegator - to getting the results you are looking for or that the organization is looking for - it’s not happening. You are having thoughts like “they won’t be able to do it as good as me.” or “I don’t want to add extra work to anyone.” or “what if they don’t like me after I delegate?”. These thoughts – when unmanaged – will get in the way of actually implementing the tools and becoming the effective delegator that you want to be.
I encourage you to think about this: What is an area of your leadership or entrepreneurship that you want to elevate? What have you tried so far? What has worked and what hasn’t worked? Now – really dig in – what were you thinking when it DID work? What were you thinking when it DIDN’T work? Can you see how your thoughts either propelled you or held you back?
What do you think?
How do you think managing your mind might make a difference for you?
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