Six Practices to Regain Agency

As 2020 comes to a close, I reflect on how often I felt out of control this year, unable to execute my original goals – and the ways I found my way back. What tools do you use to re-discover your power? Here are six practices that have helped me regain agency this past year:

  1. Name your personal challenge – don’t depend on the zeitgeist: It’s easy to blame COVID, or Jupiter-rising, or ‘the political situation’ for your worries. But you don’t control Jupiter, or the Virus.  Dig in and name your personal obstacles, until you find an actionable blocker rather than an excuse.
  2. Craft a story you can believe in: If you worry about what others may think of your Story, then you probably have your own discomfort with it.  Look at what is working for you now. Craft a story of where you are and where you are going, and don’t wait for things to change for the better when you’ll be able to tell it all from hindsight.
  3. Your strengths will guide you: Your actions (tactics) say where you are heading much louder than your words (strategy). People look at your actions and know who you are. You are apt to spend time where you add the most value and feel the most fulfilled, so pay attention to how you spend your productive time, and stay with it. Ultimately that’s what paves the road to results.
  4. Identify what is in your direct or indirect control, or beyond both:  As you hit both stumbling blocks and clear passages on your journey, avoid the extremes of dejection and self-congratulation.  Almost all results are a blend of skill, hard work, luck, and ‘privilege’ or lack thereof. Focus on what you directly control, name and contribute to the bigger issues, and use the tools of your personal faith. In all cases, be humble: you are part of a family, a culture, a company, a society, etc. – each of which contribute to your situation, for better and for worse.
  5. Sometimes you just need to be uncomfortable:  Perhaps your nemesis is cold-calling, or speaking in public, or asking for money, or losing a prospect or a client. When you’re in these situations, swallow your fear and keep showing up, because perseverance wins over ego.
  6. Turn a drift into a pivot: If you’re drifting off your original path, go back and recraft your story with this new direction, and see if you can believe in it. Does it still play to your strengths? If you can’t come to terms with this new story, it’s not likely to hold. But if it resonates, then, in 2020 speak, it’s a Pivot, not a drift. Go for it!

Here’s to taking the reins in 2021!

Jeffrey