How are you? How about the real answer?
Would you pause for a moment with me? Gaze at the photo below.
Consider a short exercise as you look into the woods (or skip ahead to this week’s leadership lesson)…
Imagine what you might feel in your body as you walk through these trees in the shallow snow. Look up and close your eyes. Imagine the snow falling on your face. Take a few breaths. Slow ones. Full ones.
Notice where you might be carrying tension in your body. Notice what thoughts emerge in a short moment of silence. Notice what feels different.
I do a version of this exercise at the beginning of every coaching session with a client. Almost every time it reveals something new and unexplored. I hope it did the same for you.
Now let’s get to it.
Writing Teacher and Memoirist Ruthie Ackerman on Owning Your Story
The thing that I’m teaching is not writing. You can’t teach writing. The thing I’m teaching is giving yourself permission to be a writer. And I like to say the word author is part of the word authority, so you have the authority to write your story.
– Ruthie Ackerman as quoted on Good Work Episode 34
Why Courage Matters More Than Intellect
The act of writing—the process of sitting down and giving voice to your experiences—is transformative. Like therapy or coaching or spiritual practices or somatic experiences, writing is a tool to understand who you are and how you grew to be that person.
The first time you sit down to tell a part of your story, you might tell yourself that no one will care. That the exercise is a waste of time. That it is an indulgence. And while it might feel that way at first, I can promise that it’s not.
When parts of your story remain hidden or unacknowledged they always finds a way to come out — often in ways that are unproductive or unhealthy. Leaders who understand who they are and the experiences that shaped them are leaders with more choice in their actions, decisions, and relationships.
Coaching Questions to Apply it to Your Life
What is your story? If you drew a line lengthwise across a piece of paper representing your life, what moments, experiences, people, and turning points would you add to that line? What story would you tell about each one? What stories have you not yet owned?
Barrett
P.S.: Did you catch the Good Work episode with Ankur Nagpal, founder of Teachable (which he sold for $250M), Carry, and Vibe Capital?