We live in a world of constant distraction. As the pace of life accelerates, it can feel harder and harder to stay focused on our long-term goals. At the same time, the world is becoming ever more complex and the need for a guiding long-term perspective has become more important than ever.
Where attention goes, energy follows. How do we keep our orientation toward our guiding purpose while living in a world screaming for our immediate attention?
Our communal attention span can be illustrated in one simple chart. The chart below shows the relative level of Google searches for the term “systemic racism” since the beginning of the year. For all of 2020, the incidence of searches for this term was at a relatively low rate. Then on May 27, two days after the brutal killing of George Floyd, search activity began to spike. On June 4, after eight days of exponential growth in activity, searches for “systemic racism” peaked. Then, by late July and early August, activity had returned almost completely to the levels seen early in the year.
Systemic racism has been an issue in this country for over 400 years. Correcting it is going to take sustained work over an extended period of time. As leaders, we each have a unique part to play – to take on the issues where our voice and impact can contribute to positive change. Many of us will stay the course to dismantle systemic racism. Climate change, global peacemaking, poverty, mental health, and hunger are but a few of the many other global challenges needing focus and energy from compassionate leaders.
Here are four guiding principles to support leaders as they embrace the long road to change.
1. Define your purpose with clarity.
Bringing about changes within structures or organizations that have been in place for a long time will also be a lengthy process. With systemic racism, it is unrealistic to think that 400 years of practice will be undone in one short period of time. For long journeys to be successful, they require a vision of your desired destination. Otherwise, a new distraction will arise each step along the way, sending you off in a new direction. Before you even realize it, you may find that you have wandered in such a way that you are right back where you started.
2. Recognize that your life is only lived in the current moment.
We live in a constant dance between vision and detail. Achieving your defined purpose can happen only through consistent attention on a regular basis. It is easy for the positive hope of our vision to clash with painful realities of current circumstances. We must remain aware of and accept reality just as it is. Accepting reality, however, does not mean we don’t act. As American psychologist and author Marsha Linehan has said, “You can’t change anything if you don’t accept it, because if you don’t accept it, you’ll try to change something else that you think is reality.”
Focusing on living in the present moment is especially important for responding to long-term global challenges. Doing the best you can, and letting go of an attachment to the outcome is always a valuable practice, but it is an absolute imperative for work that will be ongoing for decades. Celebrate each day’s journey, and allow that to be the only achievement you need to stay the course.
3. Build a community of positive support.
No one can do this alone. Long term agendas come with regular setbacks and stresses. When times get tough, it is important to be able to reflect on your experience within an environment of safety, support and understanding. Someone who knows you, or someone who has traveled a similar path, can be instrumental in helping you navigate through the challenging parts of the path toward your long-term goal.
4. Emphasize resilience over avoiding suffering.
Failure and suffering are each a part of all of our journeys. Wanting to avoid suffering is understandable, but when overemphasized, self-protection limits our creativity and energy. To make progress toward long-term goals requires vulnerability and risk taking, which are both accompanied by potential failure. If we want to lead the change, our choice is not whether we can avoid failure. Our choice is to determine how we respond when we do fail. Do we pick ourselves up? Do we ask, “What can I learn from what just happened?” Do we allow ourselves to be seen as human and imperfect?
Focusing on our long-term purpose will help us amplify our impact in the world. And on a profound personal level, it will help us feel fulfilled and connected with our deepest intention.
Photo Credit: Fritz Bielmeier on Unsplash.