True Agency

Write this one down.

Event + Perspective = Outcome

Have you ever had a stretch where it feels like you're stuck in second gear? Was it a week? a month? or even a year? Or a season when you feel like the things are happening around you and you're not in the driver's seat?

When you feel that drift, you can use this framework to quickly pause, reflect, and choose exactly where you want to go from this point forward. I stumbled upon this framework in "The Energy Bus" by Jon Gordon, a book we're reading in a new book club I'm in. This is how you regain control and agency in your life.

Event

Something happens.

The events of our lives come from many places, some as a result of our choices, and others are just "life happened." Some are disruptive, and some are just annoying little speed bumps.

Here is the truth. The event is just the event. It has no emotions or assumptions or attachments, we all make those ourselves. We are the ones who attach all the meaning to the event. Many events are neutral until you decide what it means for you.

Outcome

Something happens later.

I heard another MAPS coach share with some leaders this week "Don't get attached to the outcome. It's not 100% a result of your actions and decisions." You can do all the right things, make the smarter calls, do the best prep possible. Then, some external factor - sudden illness, market shift, bad luck - shows up and changes the direction and outcome. You do not completely own the outcome. You only own what you put in.

Perspective

so if you cannot control the event, and you cannot guarantee the outcome, what's left?

Your perspective. What is left is how you interpret what's going on around you. This tiny little space between what already happened and what can happen next. And the best part? You can learn the skill of perspective choice.

When you shape your perspective, you change the math of the equation. You stop reacting to the world, and start shaping your world. You don't have to be a bystander in your story. You can choose to be the factor that changes the game.

What perspective shift do you need to change today?