They know behind every mountain begging to be climbed is the promise of satisfaction and self-esteem.
“These inconveniences can be anything from getting up at 5 a.m. to make a 7 a.m. meeting with your professor when you’re working on your master’s degree or running 75 miles a week to prepare for your first marathon even though your feet are on fire because they are covered with blisters. It could be going through four months of morning sickness before you give birth or putting in 60 hours a week to be the top salesperson for your company.”
The thing about these inconveniences is that there is no guarantee they we will actually lead us to achieving what we are after, even if we put in the work. Is this fair? No! But, if we don’t, we will have no chance of reaching our goal at all. So, Mylett suggests we embrace inconveniences and decide to enjoy them.
Leaders do this. Leaders also encourage others to strive for inconvenient accomplishments. They know behind every mountain begging to be climbed is the promise of satisfaction and self-esteem. They also recognize talent in others and help to develop it, even if that means pushing us toward the mountain.
Many of us go around suspecting we may have some natural gifts, but sometimes it’s not until someone we respect notices them, calls them out and insists we put them to work, that we actually see them in ourselves.
I can recall a time early in my career when I felt like I was being loaded up with an unfair share of work. During a leadership retreat, I was called out in front of the team I barely knew to come up with a vision for an organization I hardly understood. In one hour. WHAT? ME?
When assigned this surprise task, I’m sure my body language revealed something other than an embrace. Sensing my recoil, which was about as subtle as a screaming red hot piece of heel flesh about to blister, the leader of the organization pulled me aside to explain that I wasn’t being punished. I was being given an opportunity to use and showcase my gifts, gifts that could be valuable to the organization, sure, but also to me, gifts that might take me higher in my career.
When I got over the shock and fear of feeling victimized and being put on the spot, I got into it. I love to write and I love to dream. I was being sent out to the lovely park of Courthouse Plaza in downtown Prescott to do both. I had a blast.
And when we regrouped an hour later, I presented “The Vision.”
I have to say, it was pretty funny, and also pretty good. But the real magic was that my over-the-top, yet based-in-reality vision worked like fairy dust. It connected a team that was quite disconnected. You could feel the change in the room as individuals recognized themselves in the vision and smiled, chuckled and relaxed into their seats. Wow. My confidence and sense of belonging grew that day.
Climbing and growing are good for us, often profitable and rewarding in many other ways, too, but they are not convenient. When we embrace inconvenience as a way of life, Mylett suggests we get into the habit of doing one more anything and feeling the power of one more, which he says leads to happiness and success, and gives us a chance at greatness.
Also, the thing about pushing ourselves and actually accomplishing what we set out to do, feels really good, even if we are sleep deprived, hobbling on our blisters and throwing up. QCBN
By Bonnie Stevens, QCBN
Bonnie Stevens is a public relations consultant. She can be reached at bonnie.stevens@gmail.com.