Perhaps one of the most difficult lessons we learn in Directing our Purpose is learning to trust ourselves and learning to trust the process. At some point we lean so far into our goals and desires that all there is left to do is to let go.
We can no more control the outcome than we can make time stand still or go backwards. But trusting ourselves is difficult, mainly because it consist of trusting the same "you" that has made mistakes; or perhaps even failed at something. Perhaps, multiple somethings.
So what's left to trust. How can you leave your fate to this flawed being known as... yourself.

Trusting ourselves first starts with compassion. Understanding that "failures" and flaws are inevitable in this process. It is the only way we learn. To live a failure free life with 0 flaws often means not trying at all. Your mistakes or your shortfalls are often because you dared to try and that's worth acknowledging, Gather what you learn from the experience and move forward. One day your missteps will serve as an inspiration, to you or someone else.

Trusting yourself is also having faith in your intentions, As you steer towards your goals, know that there is the possibility to be blown off course; to incur mishaps, that cause you to retool, rethink,and  re-strategize. This doesn't always mean that your cause or your goal was unworthy. The person you were when you made that goal believed truly and honestly in their pursuit. They (you) were directing their purpose. Bumps and bruises along the way only speak to the journey and your tenacity, not the worthiness of your goal.

And lastly, trusting yourself is about letting go. Once you understand that failure is a part of the process and your connected to your "why", it's time to move forward, detached from the perception that everything must go perfectly or happen precisely in a certain way.
Do everything that you can. Develop your vision. Do your research and by all means execute on your ideas, and then see what happens. Life can and will surprise you.
I've often found that when I was leaning into my efforts; when I was trusting myself and the process, things often turned out better than what I could have imagined; precisely because I was willing to let go of the expectation that things turn out exactly as I had anticipated.

It's not always easy. Doubt can creep in like an incessant vapor, threatening to choke out creativity and stall action. Moving forward feels tough. Progress seems slow (or non-existent) and frustration is rampant.
You can take one more step.
You can try one more thing.
Take a deep breath. Ask for the help you need. Consult a resource you hadn't considered. Go back to the beginning and review the core of your goals. Perhaps there's another way. It's ok to feel overwhelmed or out of your element. The growth process is often that way. You've made it this far.
Trust yourself.

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This Summer I got the opportunity to spend 6 1/2 weeks in Ghana. While this was not my first time in Ghana, it was the longest I had ever been out of the country.
I spent my first 2 weeks helping to coordinate an orientation for a group of Mount Holyoke College students and then doing site visits in various parts of the country. For the month of July I was on my own and able to move about as I would like.

During the first week of July I traveled down to Johannesburg, South Africa for the first time. This was significant for me because I had been wanting to go for a long time but somehow talked myself out of it a number of times. Finally getting there, visiting Soweto and the apartheid museum was AMAZING.

Going after these experiences made me stand a little taller. Looking back it's still hard to believe I was able to do it all in one summer. By the time my trip was nearing the end, I was ready to come home,  and see just how unstoppable I could continue to be.

But at first, it was hard.

I came home and snapped into execution mode. I had to prepare myself for being back home. The first few days were difficult but doable. I had a move that needed to be executed upon arrival and I needed to get ready to head back to my job at the college.

Despite my optimism. I lost a little steam. I was starting to feel a little drained and somewhat overwhelmed. After a few days I also felt emotionally drained. (Yes I know this was part of resettling and reentry.) But I felt I was dragging myself along.

But I started to remember my lessons from Ghana.

My time in Ghana had allowed me to Trust my Own Process.
It had been awhile since I had the freedom to decide, from week to week, how I would spend my days outside of work. I stopped looking at my decisions as rights ones and wrong ones, only as ending up exactly where I needed to be; even if I wasn't certain of the reason at the time. I needed to have faith in the person I was when I made the decision....which essentially was still me.

I also had to remember to Own my Power.  My experience was one I had manifested. Traveling for that long (6 weeks in Ghana, with a trip to South Africa) had seemed impossible at one point. Nine years ago I would have never event dreamed it was possible, yet I was literally living that reality. My vision, my intentions, and my sacrifices that had led me to that point and brought my experience into being. I was capable of that, which means I was also capable of so much more.

Lastly I remembered how much I valued the Power of  Human Connection (even as an introvert). I spent my last 2 weeks in Ghana living in a hostel. (One I had frequented on and off during my stay.) And spent lots of time getting to know folks around town.
In Johannesburg I hung out at a hostel that also served as a bar and meeting spot for both foreigners and locals. I was constantly meeting people from all over world and friendships were sooooo easy. I'm talking 5yr-olds-meeting-in-a-sandbox easy. All pretenses dropped. Like we forgot we were supposed to be playing it cool, and instead of it being awkward, it was easy. Knowing that our interactions would be short lived, we often enthusiastically engaged in each other's presence, gleaning all we could learn about the other person. These friendships kept me buoyant and present.

Coming back home, I find I've been just a little more present in my interactions and being more intentional about the time I spend with others. 

This week I want to you to step boldly in your own journey. Trust the process and trust yourself. It doesn't matter how things have gone before or that you fear you'll make a mistake, move forward anyway. You grow or you will learn. But you will be exactly where you should.

Remember you have the power to manifest your goals. It is all within you. Believing in your goals alone does not make it happen, however, it's damn near impossible  to achieve them, without first believing it's possible. Soooo better to get to the believing part; and be sure to do so wholeheartedly.

Lastly, let your community support you. If you don't have a community, find one or let yourself be that part of a community for someone else. These experiences have a way of filling us up more than we realize (yes, even for us introverts.) 

Have you taken a trip that's impacted your leadership journey? I'd love to hear about it!

Do you want to know how you or your team could be Directing Your Purpose, contact me.  Don't forget to sign-up for my mailing list. You can also follow me on Facebook Twitter and Instagram..

​This week we're focused on Executing our Strategy. So we started with PURPOSE, we developed our VISION and our PLAN. Now it's time to EXECUTE. This video will give you tips on building a solid execution strategy for your goals.

I've always been an incessant list maker. If I found myself in a problem or situation I would start making lists of all the things I needed to do to try and make another path.

These lists were a part of my planning process and almost always made me feel better instantly. All was not lost...I had a plan.

These days I tend to be a vision and execution kind of person. I see my goal and I want run with it. But I've also matured in my thinking and processing. I understand there are moments when I need to step back before diving in and evaluate before before moving forward. In the planning phase we look at the context of our goals. We break down the overall intention to its basic fundamental levels, in order to see what's really involved in working towards success.

So, like many folks I've been trying to improve my health by improving what I put into my body.  I decided to observe when and how my lack of follow through showed up in my commitment.

I observed that I'd be doing really well, but in the moment I would make split second decisions that would go against my intentions.

I had no plan. I had a desire to eat well. I could execute on my workouts and I had an intention to do better. I even started focusing on my vision for better health and what that would mean more for me over all.

Yet when it came down it, I'd absently minded go towards the first thing available or whatever was offered. I had no solid plan for my resistance or pre-planned substitutions.

Planning allows you to see actual obstacles versus perceived obstacles. You learn to identify your strengths, and anticipate where you might require extra support for your goals. You also build strategies for success into your process.

Good planning: Incorporates observation and research (What needs to happen based on what I know/learned?), Uses timelines and benchmarks (What will be accomplished and when?), and puts high priority items first for greater impact & effectiveness (Which tasks will maximize my success?)

So whether you are starting or resuming school, moving forward on a project or idea, motivating your team, or starting a movement, your plan is your roadmap to succeeding in your goals.

So What's Your Plan for Success ?
Leave your comments below. You can also head over to my Facebook page and leave your comments there.

Know someone who could use this advice? Forward it on to them.

Do you want to know how you or your team could be Directing Your Purpose, contact me.  Don't forget to sign-up for my mailing list. You can also follow me on Facebook Twitter and Instagram..

Your plan moves your vision from to aspirational to directional. It allows you to see actual obstacles versus perceived ones and places intention behind your goals. This will help you be more efficient not just productive.

Your Vision creates a new mindset for what is possible. Creating a vision that it without limits can help you gain clarity and a point of analysis between where you are and where you would like to be. This will help provide the details for understanding the steps it will take to there.

Connecting to your Purpose is the first Step in the Direct Your Purpose Process.

Your Purpose is your reason, cause, or motivation for the the things that are important to you. Before you begin your goal, you must first identify why your goal matters to you. This will have a lot to do with your existing values and mindset around connecting the highest expression of yourself. Your purpose acts as your compass point towards your goals. It is your reminder in the chaos of transformation and your beacon in the storm of change. It is strong enough to withstand your doubts and inspiring enough to light the flame of your conviction over and over again.

So how do you get there?

First, you must understand that your Purpose is likely something you already possess. It is within you, and it's likely been pushing and motivating you this whole time. It's at work in the places where you are truly passionate about your life. You can have multiple purposes. Your purpose can be large and enduring like your life's work, a cause, or a movement. But your purpose can also be more temporal like completing a significant project or finishing a graduate program.  Both are valid.

Here are some tips to help you connect to your Purpose?

Identify when you are at your best
I've had the pleasure of volunteering at a 5-Day event for for my Startingbloc Community, an organization that's very near and dear to my heart. On opening day, even though I was there to serve and perform mundane tasks, I could feel myself beaming from the inside out. (If you saw me that day, you likely got the biggest, grandest hug I could give.)
Creating community is part of my purpose. Being in service of a mission larger than myself is also part of my purpose. I know that when I am doing those things in any capacity, my entire being lights up. Knowing this about myself has allowed me to be clear about what motivates me and how I see my values in other areas in my life.

Identify what your goals will mean to you or someone you love
To someone who once believed that their dreams or their goals were impossible, getting to the other side of that obstacle, can feel like the kind of accomplishment, that goes way beyond the goal itself. The significance of achieving a goal of this magnitude, can be an affirmation of one's determination, sacrifice, and resilience. It can also mean an affirmation of self, and the kind of internal validation that is only possible on the other side of what once seemed insurmountable.
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What will NOT achieving this goal feel like?
When we know we are capable of going beyond our present capacity, the price of staying stagnant, not trying, or not giving it your best effort, can seem high...too high.  To live your whole life with the knowing that you had the ability and the skill to launch that project, write that book, or pursue that dream but you never did, can feel like a burden unto itself. That's because even when we are not living our purpose, its presence or lack of presence is felt. Connect to what that feels like for you.

How does this goal or idea represent your identity?
Who do you want to become?
There is a prescribed identity that we live in every day that has been developed over time through our experiences. And then there is our aspirational identity.  Have you ever caught yourself saying, "I want to be the kind of person who ________." ? Do a journal exercise where you allow yourself to answer that statement. Pay attention to the attributes and values of this aspirational identity.  What might you learn from them that will give you clues about your purpose.

So how do you plan to Connect to Your Purpose?
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Know someone who could use this advice? Forward it on to them.

Do you want to know how you or your team could be Directing Your Purpose, contact me.  Don't forget to sign-up for my mailing list. You can also follow me on Facebook Twitter and Instagram..

Your Purpose is your motivation, aspiration,  and justification for your goal, project, or idea. It's connected to your values and why your objective is important to you. For this part of the Direct Your Purpose challenge, you'll want to start think about how your purpose connects to your goals and how to identify your purpose in some of the things you are already doing.

If you're a student right now, you've likely been through a slew of orientation events, welcome to campus rituals, and speaker after speaker aimed at ensuring your success.
Your inbox is overflowing with reminders and there are at least 10 events in the upcoming week that have been recommended to you as absolutely essential. Meanwhile, you're just hoping to make it through the semester intact and potentially still figuring out the details on your schedule, course load, and book purchases.

How do you plan to get the most out of your semester?

Here are 5 tips to make sure feel prepared to rock your GPA, connect to your campus, and build your arsenal of support.

1. Identify your Support System a.k.a your Board of Advisors
This is about being proactive.
Maybe you're not the type who's ever needed support (or perhaps this is just the view you hold of yourself). In any case getting familiar with the services available on your campus BEFORE you need them can make all the difference in your mid-semester world,  when you find out you actually might need support.
Connect with at least one person in that office or department. Get familiar with your advisor, class dean, and or counseling services rep.  These folks are already invested in your success. Even if you don't use them, just knowing who and what's available can help immensely later on.

2. Find Your Community
 I am a firm believer in the power of community. This is a group of friends, a student organization, or religious affiliation,  in alignment with your values or goals. This should be a community that affirms you and allows you to affirm them; and a place where you can find compassion and consideration. When looking for community look for places where you can give a much as you receive. 

3. Find your outlet
At least 2-3 times a month you can find me dancing and sweating my heart out. It's both my therapy and my expression. I also go to the gym about 3-5x a week (this has literally saved me from social media battles with near strangers). Whatever it is, art, exercise, service, volunteering, etc, make a plan now, on how and when you will incorporate at least one thing into your schedule to help you de-stress.

4. Affirm Your Sense of Purpose
At times this will feel really hard. As a first-gen student, I questioned my journey ALOT. I wondered if I would make it through and if the sacrifices I was making in the end would be worth it. Some days I felt on top of the world and many days I STRUGGLED.
Stay connected to yourself. Remind yourself why you started this journey and above all else, remind yourself of your values and your highest purpose. Write it down. Make it visible. It will be the light in dark places. 

5. Envision and Articulate your Perfect Semester.
Write this down!
Take a sheet of paper and write out your version of a perfect semester.  Make it a free-write. Describe everything in detail. Your perfect classes. Your perfect experiences. Complete sentences like: "This semester is perfect because...".
This is not a lesson in disappointment or a guarantee that things will go perfect. Even your sense of perfection will shift as the year progresses forward. The point is to build clarity around your objectives and connect with what's important for you in cultivating your experience.

Bonus: Develop an Execution Strategy
I'll go deeper into detail in my next post about this, but essentially, you will need to develop a strategy to anchor your aspirations into action. Figure out how you will build accountability into each of your goals. This can be study groups, tutoring appointments, or weekly check-ins with a mentor or advisor. Pay attention to when you tend to stumble on your goals and use that feedback to seek out appropriate support.  

So how do you plan to get the most out of your semester?
Leave your comments below. You can also head over to my Facebook page and leave your comments there.

Know someone who could use this advice? Forward it on to them.

Do you want to know how you or your team could be Directing Your Purpose, contact me.  Don't forget to sign-up for my mailing list. You can also follow me on Facebook Twitter and Instagram..