How to create and sustain prosperity consciously.

In December 2021, a good friend Dirk Joubert introduced me to the 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership, a new paradigm for sustainable success. This book resonated with my integral and ontological approach to life and coaching. Subsequently, I enrolled in a month-long online course to revisit the conscious leadership approach and gain different perspectives from the course leaders and cohort participants.

Firstly, I decided to reflect and apply the lessons from the sessions in the context of ‘How to create and sustain prosperity consciously’. Secondly, I want to document and share my understanding with you as the reader.

As I started to apply the principles of conscious leadership in the context of creating and sustaining prosperity for myself and others, it became clear that conscious leadership enable us to be aware of which emotions are helping us to create a prosperous future through the language we use and embody, the declarations we make, and how they influence our actions.

In this article, we will explore the following four questions in the context of the 15 commitments of consciousness:

1.?????Where are you?

2.?????Can you accept yourself for being just where you are?

3.?????Are you willing to shift?

4.?????How will you shift?

Looking at the four questions above, you will notice that they are perfect for exploring issues in our lives or applying them to coaching conversations with our clients.

Conscious leadership reduces suffering for ourselves, others, and the planet. ?Secondly, it is to be fully alive. Therefore, in the context of this statement, anybody that takes responsibility for their own life and influences the world to become a better place is a conscious leader.

As conscious leaders, we need to take responsibility, and if that is the case, commitment equals “what is”, our current reality. The authors of the 15 commitments framework depict it as follows, “Conscious leaders own their commitment by owning their results (Dethmer, Chapman, & Klemp, 2014, p. 21).” This also applies to our taking responsibility for our finances.

However, we can only embody consciousness if we work on awareness and self-acceptance.

Let us jump in and explore the first question and see how all of this is interwoven.

STEP 1: WHERE AM I IN RELATION TO MY CHALLENGE?

???1. Content and Context

As a conscious leader, it is vital to distinguish between content versus context. ?Content answers the question, “What are we talking about?”. If we describe the who's, what's, where’s, when’s and why’s about somebody or something, we focus on the content. On the other hand, context answers the question, “How are we talking about the content?”. In this framework, we are conscious of our conversation being below or above the conversation line.

How do we know if we are having a below- or above-the-line conversation?

2.?????Are my conversations below- and above-the-line conversations?

The following diagram can help us to spot some of the moods and language(Statements and Beliefs) we are having in our conversations; also the behaviour we display:

3. The Drama Triangle

It is not a case of ‘if’ it will happen but rather when it will we find ourselves below the line. We sometimes find ourselves below the line. We get caught in a drama triangle.

In the state of being a victim, we see ourselves “at the effect of” people, circumstances and conditions.?We are super complainers. We know we are vulnerable when we feel powerless to effect change. We are most probably also experiencing a mood of resignation and anxiety. If we stay in this state, we are satisfied to wait for somebody else to fix the problem.

As a victim, one's persona seeks help, security, and people who want to rescue one from their pain, suffering and overwhelming problems.

In the state of being the villain, we love to take on the role of the persecutor and blame the world. We shift the blame from ourselves to another or “them”. Our role when performing this role is to find fault and identify who caused the problem. We know we are correct in this role, and the focus is on the issue. In this state, a mood of resentment is most probably our friend.

As a villain, one’s persona seeks people to criticise, enemies to conquer, “the way” to follow, where to place the blame, and how to control the situation.

In the hero's state, we take on the role of the rescuer. We look for suffering inside or outside ourselves. Then we react to the pain by finding ways to make it temporarily disappear. We act with the expectation that others and we will feel better based on our “hero deeds”.

As a hero, one’s persona seeks appreciation, problems to fix, people to save, pain to relieve and conflicts to resolve.?

We can apply the concepts from above to create and sustain prosperity. What would the beliefs, moods and conversations be of some of these conversations to create prosperity?

STEP 2: WHAT IS THE PAYOFF YOU GET FROM YOUR CURRENT RELATIONSHIP WITH THE ISSUE?

One of my kryptonite is spending money to enrol in the next course or learning opportunity, and then the next one, and so on. ?Reflecting on this, I can argue that learning is one of my most vital values. So, enrolling in a course will support my values and give me more knowledge to share with the world. However, if I am spending money and time, I should have budgeted for on a course, I am placing unnecessary strain on myself. It also leads to feelings of guilt as I spend money (that I did not budget for) on a course in which I do not necessarily have the time to engage fully in the material or participate.

Let us explore what some of the payoffs I can get from enrolling in a course are:

• I get to avoid my core feelings, especially feelings of fear, sadness and anger
• I get to stay connected
• I get excited and motivated by the rush of adrenaline
• I am comfortable staying with the status quo and avoiding exploring the unknown
• It gives me a story to share with you, clients and peers
• I allow me to avoid taking responsibility for the issue at hand
• I get to be right about … (I substantiate my story)

Reflecting on the above, my relationship with enrolling on a course can come from the following:

• I want to be an expert in my field and enrolling on courses allows opportunities for growth
• If I do not enrol, somebody else may be more knowledgeable than me
• Enrolling in courses, I allow me to gain knowledge that I can create content and share, which aids me in building my business and increasing my wealth and freedom.

What is your kryptonite? Make a list of what the payoffs are for you. Is there any cost?

STEP 3: ARE YOU COMFORTABLE WITH SHIFTING YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE ISSUE?

YES / NO

Are you willing to shift? Let us explore it in context with the following willingness questions:

• Am I willing to end the blame game regarding the issue?
• Am I willing to let go of being right about…….?
• Am I willing to feel all my feelings relating the issue?
• Am I willing to reveal all of my withholds related to the issue?
• Am I willing to stop all gossip and/or talk about the issue?
• Am I willing to clean up all broken agreements related to the issue (with myself and others)?
• Am I willing to shift from entitlement to appreciation about this issue?
• ?Am I willing to let go of taking the issue seriously?
• Am I willing to see that the opposite of my story about the issue is true?

Based on your responses above, are you willing to shift? If you have any no’s, you can choose whether you want to change it or not. I answered no to more than one of these questions, meaning I need to work on this issue if I am willing to shift ( I am not currently). Being below the line, however being aware is fine, as I still need to learn some lessons, make some decisions before I can move on. However I now know what my relationship with the issue is.

STEP 4: WHAT DECLARATION ARE YOU PREPARED TO MAKE REGARDING THE ISSUE?

Based on your current commitment in this present moment regarding the issue you identified, complete this sentence:

*(Remember that it is completely fine?whether your commitment is to move above or below the line.)

Today is?_______________, and I am committed to ______________________

If you are prepared to shift, how will you shift?

________________________________________________________________

What actions will you take, and by when?

________________________________________________________________

Do you know if these actions are measurable and attainable?

________________________________________________________________

All these activities above can be done to create a greater awareness of the relationship between us and an issue while accepting where we are with no judgement and care.

Staying with my example:

Today is 26 January 2023, and I am committed to pausing for at least 24 hours before buying any course or book. I will measure myself by making this part of my daily reflection.?I am curious to learn more about myself in the process.

Resources:

15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership

Also, my reflections from the 4-week Conscious Leadership Training.