3 Steps To Overcome Resistance and Get the Job Done

A few weeks ago I was preparing to film an interview to answer some of the questions people ask me about what I do in my line of work. This is something I thought would be super easy. I had everything set up just right, I was even feeling extra fancy with two camera angles!

I had a bunch of questions written out and felt happy that I was able to record what normally happens behind the scenes, inside a private conversation. 

The time came and I sat down to start, Nezha my fiance asked me the first question; 

What do you do?

As soon as she spoke I felt my entire body tighten up. “Was it the camera?” No, I always use the same camera. “Was it the room?” No, I always film here. I decided to ignore it. But the tension got worse, eventually, I had to stop the whole thing.

I secretly laughed inside that my interview about Enlightened Leadership had stopped because I was feeling insecure, and nervous. 

I was struggling to tell Nezha the answers, I felt that she already knew them, so I was over complicating things and not answering as I would to a stranger. I was disconnected, lacking the creativity and openness that is a vital element to my work. I was feeling bummed out like I was a fraud. 

Has anybody else ever experienced this? 

Just when you think you’ve got it all worked out you drop into a mindset that is unproductive and childish (as opposed to a child-like). 

I was ready to pull the plug and call it quits. Luckily I have a very strong-willed woman, and she put me straight. She reminded me of what I was doing this for, and that if my teachings are true I can choose to lift up, light up and lead myself from a more Enlightened Perspective. 

I laughed and said ok, I think I know the problem. I am talking to you instead of to a stranger. Without a word she grabbed the blanket from the sofa nearby and threw it over herself. Will this work, I laughed, I think it will! So we restarted the interview.

Amazingly it helped, I was no longer talking to her, I was talking to the emptiness in the room. It was so freeing no longer seeing her face react to mine, We had created a neutral scenario that allowed me to shoot the interview easily!

This made me realise that when we are just about to quit, no matter how hopeless something feels, the best way to complete anything is to bring in a sense of playfulness and neutrality. 

Playful energy lights us up and lifts our spirits to a much higher vantage point. 

This is Enlightened Self-Leadership in action. And it’s important to realise that we create problems in our way of seeing life when we make things too serious. The human mind is always playing tricks on us, the key is being able to spot it and play the game, instead of being played

“Are you doing your thinking, or is your thinking doing you?”

Knowing how the human mind works will give you the key to transforming even the gloomiest of situations into playful opportunities. Resilience and wellbeing are only a thought away if you are looking in the right direction.

That’s the gift of the Enlightened Leadership approach, we look inwards towards our state of mind first. Making self-reflection the priority. When this becomes the primary direction a leader looks, she can always find solace it the facts; Our inner world determines how we perceive our outer world problems. ALWAYS! 

Now the question: How is my state of mind? Becomes the first question to ask when a challenge occurs.

What challenges or problems are you up against right now? What would happen if just for today you stepped into the Enlightened Leaders approach by taking the situation back to a neutral place, then seeking a more playful alternative? 

If you test this out I’d love to hear about your results in the comments below?

With Love,

Ryan 

Lift, Light up, Be the change you wish to see

E.L Insights: 

1. Leadership can feel tough, especially when we think we should always have it together. 

2. Being vulnerable, and willing to take a dose of your own medicine from others in your team is a powerful way to get back into integrity with yourself and them. 

3. Resetting to neutral allows you to become fun and creative faster than self-judgment and shame ever will!