Heroic Moment: Get Started. Now.
Too often, we wait for openings and opportunities. We want to make a difference, to make an impact, and to act on our values. We want to change the world, our communities, or our organizations. But, we wait.
However, when we wait, we delay the benefits of heroic action or intervention, and our communities and organizations stagnate, and opportunities are lost. Without action, they struggle and suffer.
In short, we withhold their opportunities for salvation and transformation.
In many ways, the pressure builds the longer we wait. As we count the minutes, hours, and days that go by, the higher the stakes climb in our minds and the more urgent the intervention becomes. The first time a friend makes a homophobic comment or a sexist joke soon becomes a hurtful slur or abusive action, and the seemingly harmless hazing becomes a dangerous sacrifice of one's values. The molehill becomes a seemingly insurmountable mountain.
Get started. Now.
Don Miguel Ángel Ruiz, one of my favorite authors and philosophers, observed, "Always Do Your Best. Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret."
The benefits of getting started are immediate and immense in the hero's journey.
Rosabeth Moss Kanter points them out in a recent edition of the Harvard Business Review:
- Small wins build confidence
- Small wins build progress
- A small win now is better than a big, but uncertain, win down the road
- Winning, small or big, is contagious and energizing
So, why wait? You've committed to developing the heroic arts, and the time to act is now.
Aspire higher. Act on your values.
Get started. Now.
