One of our most distinguishing and poignant characteristics as humans is our awareness of our own mortality, or the sense that it is too late for some things. But it is never too late to change. While the effects of time may reduce your ability to pursue certain goals, like being a professional athlete or a ballerina, there are always more opportunities than you have time to pursue.
The world is a place of uncertainty and accident, of opportunity and disaster. As a result, no-one can chart a specific path to a specific future, but as with any journey in unchartered territory, you can choose a destination and route while expecting to encounter detours and roadblocks. In fact, if you can be open to these byways, you may have a much more exciting journey than you originally envisaged.
A wonderful painter once told me that the most common mistake amatuer artists make is focusing too much on their original vision for a painting rather than remaining sensitive to what is happening on the canvas. The genius knows how to incorporate happy accidents into an ultimately more exciting result.
Most of us start in the workplace as apprentices, a natural outgrowth of our roles as child and student. The defining characteristics of the apprentice is the need for external approval. Just as a child craves approval from a parent, the apprentice is eager for their supervisor or others in the chain of command to recognise their committment, talent and achievement. Thus, the apprentice is always looking for signs.
For apprentices who believe that they cannot succeed in their current job, there are two choices – change jobs and look for a more fulfilling environment or graduate from apprentice to warrior. Adopting a different attitude towards risk marks the apprentice's graduation. The ambitious apprentice longs to be judged worthy by superiors. They might be willing to accept assignments that could lead to failure but not to directly confront or attack their manager, even if they believe the manager is wrong. Thus, the apprentice is happy to let the manager define the playing field. Warriors, on the other hand, are convinced that they know what is right and are willing to risk failure and disapproval from both their managers and their peers to pursue what they consider victory. In short, apprentices tend to risk only with permission, while warriors are committed to any risk required to achieve what they believe is right.
The primary difference between the apprentice and the warrior is that the warrior's goals sufficiently compel them to risk disapproval and engage in conflict, while the apprentice is not yet either dissatisfied or secure enough to assume such risk. With risk comes fear. So, one of the most important tasks facing the new warrior is dealing with their own fear.
I have learned that anger is the mask of fear and fear is the mask of pain. Whenever I feel really angry , it's usually because at some level I feel threatened, and what I fear is that I will be hurt. Whenever I failed to look past my anger to understand my fear, I wound up making more enemies and fighting more battles than necessary.
The warrior is committed to victory over the enemy, which in business is the person, people or organization preventing the warrior's success. The warrior's goal may be personal achievement or some form of success for the organization in terms of product or profit. In either case, to achieve that goal, the warrior must be willing to risk failure and disgrace. In so doing, they must learn to hold their fear in check while performing at the peak of their skills. As a result, playing the role of warrior can lead to significant spiritual growth.
Contact us!