One of the hardest things I have found as a changemaker is taking the hits as a challenger of the status quo.
The Reality Of Changemaking
When you start on your changemaker journey, you dream of finding fulfilment, experiencing meaning and leading worthwhile change - whilst making the world truly better. And then you start trying to do just that. Suddenly you are faced with what it actually takes. Basically chaos.
Beyond the good intentions, this path isn't for the faint hearted. There is still so much resistance to the actual depth of transformation we need.
For all the talk of change out there, it always amazes me the time, energy and head space humans invest in remaining exactly where they are - even if it makes them miserable.
It often seems like resistance is an art form in itself. As a result, too often our well intentioned quest ends in burn out, self-doubt and being disillusioned. But that is not how it needs to be.
Prepare For The Mission
To make it, you have to be honest and equip yourself - for the mission that it really is rather than the one you imagine it to be.
You have to dress for the party you are actually going to rather than the illusion of paradise in your head. As my mum recently said to me: 'You have to toughen, buttercup!'
So that instead of trying to climb Mount Everest in flip flops, you grow yourself into becoming the one that succeeds - the one that makes it. Oxygen tanks and all.
Disruption Takes Energy
The mission is to disrupt the status quo. But the reality is that people are afraid to go beyond what they know.
Expect that your kind heart full of possibility will find itself confronted with rampant apathy. Know that your well-meaning words will struggle to overcome the resistance that is the norm. Prepare yourself for your visions of the future seemingly dying at the altar of the passive aggressiveness of those who don't want to change.
I know I am really selling it! But it helps to understand that that is the job description. Rather than end up believing that you are doing something wrong when it happens.
Over time, you will get through to them - but it will take a lot of energy. That is why positive energy is your lifeline and your new best friend.
Changemaking basically means being the lighthouse in a vast ocean of negativity. It is not about being annoyingly positive - but being a reassuring presence that enables safe passage.
So consciously invest in anchoring yourself in hope, presence, compassion and inspiration. And keep nurturing your own positive energy - no matter how bad the storm. So that over time you can strike that right note that has them trust you enough to follow to the new horizons you are inviting them to.
Lead Trough The Messy
Transformation is messy. It calls us to look under all the rocks we would rather keep buried. Not to mention facing all the elephants in the room we are doing everything to stay blind to.
The whole point of it is to venture into the uncomfortable. But that is not where people want to go - as they are not sure they will like what they find there.
So know that your extreme self-leadership is where it is at. In that you will have to guide the process through the uncomfortable to the other side.
This takes sourcing your confidence from the inside rather than relying on the validation from the outside. It means knowing why you are doing this, playing to your strengths and courageously navigating the space in-between.
Ultimately rather than forcing, judging or convincing, bringing to light the contradictions, setting the boundaries and exploring the truths they would rather ignore.
Leave Perfection At The Door.
You will have to constantly challenge existing patterns of behaviour that others are really attached to. So that you can forge the way to new opportunities.
People will find it easier to shut you down than to go beyond the safety of their existing frames of reference. The hard truth is that you will get rejected and shamed a lot - sometimes outright, sometimes more subtly.
The way around this is to replace perfectionism with being discerning. Understand better the human in front of you. Get to know them as the person they are rather than the one you wish them to be. Focus less on your own perfect performance and more on what you actually have permission for.
Your wish for them to change is not enough. Sacrificing yourself to a cause they don't want is not a badge of honour. They have to want to breakthrough their own self-limiting cage for it to work.
So stop focusing on where you want them to go, and then beating yourself up when they don't follow. And instead start asking what they are actually willing to grow for and focus on that. And if playing at that level does not light your fire, then move on.
WE ARE ALL BEING CALLED TO ADVENTURE.
We truly believe that we can do this. That, if enough of us commit to being purpose-led changemakers and to evolving the world by being uniquely ourselves, we can create a new world - where we all flourish together deeply valuing prosperity, people and planet.
What it takes is for us to remember who we are really here to be, do what we are here to do and make that difference only we can make. By igniting our potential, actualising our purpose and up-levelling our impact through our lives, work and leadership.
So join us by signing up below to Our Broadcasts From The New to receive weekly inspiration through our shorts, letters, messages and information about our programmes and whatever else we feel called to create to support you. Look forward to being on this adventure together!
Louise Le Gat, Founder Of The Purpose-Led Company
