It is a funny thing that we are making choices in every moment of our lives. Sure, they may be micromovements in the great scheme of things but they’re choices nevertheless.
There will be times too when we don’t decide, don’t choose. But deciding not to is a decision too.
It’s likely that most of our choices go unnoticed to us, and others. Much of what we select each day will be done almost on autopilot. Yet maybe it’s time to switch the auto off, to revert to manual and a more conscious way of selecting.
As leaders we have great power in the choices we make and with that power comes great responsibility. So, adding to the confusion and befuddlement in an uncertain world throughour, possibly woolly and at worst ill considered, decisions isn’t leaderly and could be construed as selfish.
Instead, we need to get conscious of the choices we’re making and, in particular, theintentions behind them – even for the smallest, seemingly inconsequential decisions.
Clarity, first, that we are making a choice needs to be followed by examination of the intention behind it. Who is it for? Who will it serve? What impact will it have? Is my intention the purest it can be? Is it just in my interest or my close circle or is it in service of a greater good?
At first glance the ‘greater good’ test might not seem to apply to everything. But the more conscious we become of the world around us and its needs and of the interconnections between all life the clearer the connection between each choice and its ultimate effect for good, or less so. Here we might remind ourselves of the butterfly effect – flapping our wings of choice making may have effects far and wide.
So, imagine the world we could be building through living and leading with conscious intentionality…the right action we could be generating. Our first step is surely to commit…to bringing greater consciousness to our connection to the whole and to our choices, and greater consideration to the intentions we shape and put out into the world as part of those choices.