Purpose: A Weekly Wisdom Post

I landed on PURPOSE after considering so many words that came up for me this week; compassion, resilience, thriving, pause and hold. When I wrote them all down together, I realized this week was about standing proudly in my purpose which is to help people connect to themselves, others, and Earth.

Connecting to Earth

On Friday, my partners and I offered somewhere around our 9th offering of Acknowledging Ecogrief and Developing Resilience. I facilitate a good chunk of the resilience section. Most of our attendees for these workshops have come from agencies that do fish, wildlife, land, and water work – the work of conservation. We consider these folks “the frontline workers of conservation.” That means they are dealing with endangered species, ocean acidification, “ecological services” and the like.

One would assume these folks don’t need to connect with nature, but that’s not true. Many of them are doing much of their work from behind desks all day and potentially in buildings without easy access to ample parks or natural areas. In this workshop, we ask participants. In the latest session, only ? of participants said spent 2 or more days where they got 30 minutes being mindful with nature. And, about ? of the time, they are not even very present when they are with nature.

I’m seeing this as a common thread throughout the field. And I ask if conservationists are not spending time fully present with nature, how will we help others connect and respect nature?

In this workshop, we talk about being overwhelmed by everything that’s going on with the world and recognizing we can’t do it all. So, we ask participants to focus on one or two things that bring passion and joy and find purpose and community there. We can’t solve all of the Earth’s ills. We can work where we have control and influence.

Some recent political challenges to this workshop called us to revisit our purpose. We are standing firm that this workshop creates a much-needed holding space for people in conservation to share whatever challenges are coming up for them without judgment while focusing on future possibilities.

At the end of the workshop, I offer the words of Leslie Davenport in Soul Wise – A blessing for the journey. One line stands out:

“When you are disheartened by the suffering of the world, may you find the courage and strength to stand for what you know is good.”

How often do you spend 30 minutes mindful with nature (and whatever that word means for you)? How does your purpose connect to all of our work of caring for planet?

Connecting to Others

This week, I also offered a workshop on Cooperative Language. One of the simplest things we can do with regard to our language with others is to check our emails and meeting conversations. Is the language we use with each other encouraging or discouraging?

When I asked a little bit about discouraging language a lot of words came up that had to do with worthiness; not enough, not valued, not respected, not smart enough and the list goes on. Other phrases that came up were; we don’t need change, that’s not a good idea, and it just doesn’t matter. How can we wonder why people don’t want to work hard if that is how people are communicating in the workplace?

Alternatively, I asked participants to think about a time they felt encouraged. I ask them to state what people were telling them or what they were telling themselves in an encouraging way and this is what came up:

People need to know they belong, feel capable, and are valued and valuable in the workplace. In the workshop, I introduce the 4C’s of Encouragement from my Adlerian training (connect, capable, count, and contribute). Even though these are meant for the training of children, they apply to the workplace as well.

I talk about shared meaning, resistant vs non-resistant language, and assertive vs passive/aggressive in the workshop and I still think the simplest test is around encouragement. From Alfred Adler:

“All symptoms of neuroses and psychoses are forms of expression of discouragement. Every improvement comes about solely from encouraging the sufferer. Every physician and every school of neurology is effective only to the extent that they succeed in giving encouragement.”

You can say hard things in an encouraging way. What would your workplace be like if the language used was focused on encouragement?

Connecting to Self

I also offered a Leadership Philosophy workshop this week. I truly believe that everyone should develop one regardless of their position of authority. We can all practice leadership and not many practice it with deep intention.

A leadership philosophy forces us to claim who we are and who we are not. That philosophy is likely to include our values and beliefs about leadership. It is also likely to unveil our strengths and leadership styles. When documented, it can also be used to guide decision-making and hold us accountable to ourselves and to our colleagues.

The latest iteration of my leadership philosophy starts with the end in mind. I asked myself, what would I want my colleagues to say about me in my eulogy.

“I would want people to feel seen, heard and valued. I want them to feel encouraged and inspired while being challenged. They would feel supported to experiment, make mistakes, learn and grow – in fact so much so that they surpass me in my quest to be curious internally and externally.”

I can use that paragraph to check in with myself on a regular basis. Have I seen, heard, and valued my partners? Do we encourage AND challenge each other? Can we experiment and remain curious when things don’t go the way we had planned?

I can put the same questions out to my partners and gather direct feedback on those same questions. That’s how we grow together!

Sharing your philosophy with others DOES require courage. But if you are solid in yourself and your personal growth, the feedback you receive can be valuable for everyone around you.

Have you written your leadership philosophy? If not, how do you know you are a “good leader”? What would people say about your leadership in your eulogy?

Grounded

Today is my birthday and in writing this, I feel even more grounded in who I am and the work I am bringing to the world and specifically, to the field of conservation. Both of my adult children are home, and we will be celebrating together this evening.

I am living on purpose! I am enough, I have enough and I continue to learn and grow.

Where are you kindling the light into the darkness? Are you living on and with PURPOSE?

Please PM me for any of the workshops mentioned above; Cooperative Language, Acknowledging Ecogrief and Developing Resilience, and Leadership Philosophy. I also have a workshop dedicated to Purpose. Or, for any of my company’s other offerings to help you connect to yourself, others and our beautiful Earth. ?

Check more out: https://anavahconsulting.com/services/workshops/ and https://anavahconsulting.com/new-workshops-available/