A Tool For Tapping Into Your Work

Are you building something you care about? Maybe a new program, a new staff team, or even the next version of the nonprofit you’re leading?  

I’ve been building some new offers in my business and I’ve noticed how easy it is to get lost or stuck. Or to fall into the trap of making what everyone else is making, when really there’s something more powerful and unusual that wants to be born.

For me, I realized recently that I’d started trying to build a five lane highway when what I really wanted to build was a quiet footpath. A path that would lead folks to the ease and flow they’re seeking in their work.

Today I’m offering a tool that can help us drop into our work – body, mind, and spirit – so that we don’t find ourselves jackhammering and steamrolling, when we really need is to be brush clearing and trail building.  

The first step is dropping in with “beginner’s mind” to explore the characteristics of your project, nonprofit or business – approaching as if for the first time.

So here we don’t care what’s written on the website or what it was five years ago. The question is what’s alive today. You can journal about:

If it was a meal, what would it be?
If it had weather, what would the weather be?
If it was architecture, what would that be?
If it was a song… what song would it be?

You can keep going with as many prompts as you want.

And from there, you can get into journaling. E.g. “Hello, Bravely Aligned. I don’t often talk directly with you, but I’m going to today,” and you can journal in response to these prompts:

What do you want?
What do you see that I don’t see? 
What do you need me to know?

I took this activity for a spin yesterday and, I’m not gonna lie, the power in it shook me. My business had a very clear voice and a very clear energy that I was able to tap into.

Her voice was deeply reassuring.

It was just what I needed to hear so that I could trust my own path – instead of accidentally building some sort of five-lane highway because I looked up and saw someone else building one.

So I’m curious:  What do you do to tap into the deeper essence of your work? And if you do try this process, I’d love to hear what emerges for you.