Step out your own history

To: The Great Leaders Who Have the Passion for Continuous Learning

A friend recently shared with me a quote she had heard that changed her life:
“You have to be able to step out of your own history to move forward.“

She went on to explain that there are many assumptions developed throughout our life that we hold on to – assumptions shaped by childhood events, the environment or social conditions in which we lived, previous experiences or attitudes that others hold of us – and which provide the framework for the choices we make in shaping our future life.

While many of these are valuable, there are some that hold us back – keep our thinking inside the box – and prevent us from achieving our fullest potential.
It is these few for which she suggested that we “step out of our history to move forward.”

Actress Katharine Hepburn once said: “If you obey all the rules, you will miss all the fun.” Leaders who continuously grow and develop in life are those who challenge the rules and assumptions.
They choose to see all aspects of life and relationships through different lenses, ones reflecting new realities and possibilities and not historical assumptions.

Author Ruth Benedict writes: “We do not see the lens through which we look.”
Highly effective leaders challenge their own lenses periodically, stepping out of their own history to move forward.

This week take time to “step out of your own history.”
The new possibilities you see may change your life forever.
Remember the wise counsel of Lao Tzu:
“If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.”