November… 11th month of the year… « K »… 11th letter of the alphabet…
It’s no big secret: I opted for the word KEY this month. If you look it up in the dictionary, you’ll find many definitions for that word: from the « metal instrument » that turns the bolt of a lock to a well-known expression in the « music world » (e.g. the KEY of G) without forgetting something that « provides a solution » or that is « crucially important ». It feels like I see and hear it everywhere since I chose that word!
In the big picture, these definitions seem to have in common (at least in my eyes) that they all point at something that has a determining impact. When you see or hear this word, you absolutely need to pay attention. For sure, it has nothing to do with a « bagatelle »!
Put very simply: with a KEY you can open a door. It can be a familiar door: you know exactly what is waiting for you behind it like « been there, done that ». Or it can be a completely new door: one that you’re not sure how you’ll be greeted (if at all)… or what you’ll see and get… or it can be the wrong door, even if, strangely enough, the key was working.
If I transfer this definition to your life, what are these KEYS that allow you to open doors and move forward? Or to close doors and change direction? They are our talents, our strengths, our qualities, our contacts – overall all the resources that help us to grow, to improve, to make a step, big or small.
I invite you to reflect on what your KEYS are. Write down a list of at least 10 (of course more if you want!) of them on a piece of paper or in your phone. Now that you have them together, make sure that you carry them with you all the time – if you write them in your phone, I’m sure they won’t leave you – or put that piece of paper in your wallet. Just imagine that they are held together by a key ring, just like the key ring that holds all of your « physical » KEYS.
When you’ll meet a new challenge or feel overwhelmed… have a look at your new key ring (let’s call it your resource key ring). Can one or a few of these KEYS help you find a solution or make a step forward? If so, just go for it! If not really, ask a friend, a colleague, a family member, what he/she has in his resource key ring. You can swap KEYS for a while and get the chance to participate to a win-win situation.
Sometimes when we are in a new situation or we encounter an unfamiliar problem, we can tend to go into « drama/panic/loss » mode and we forget that we have a wealth of resources that have already helped us so many times. And because they have helped you in the past, we have the right to assume that they will also help you in the future ;-). So, when the « drama/panic/loss » mode wants to set in… get your resource key ring right away! It will bring you into a « solution/power/win » mode that will help you to see clearer. Inevitably, you’ll know for sure what to do next.
You never leave the house without your « physical » KEYS, so do the same with your resource key ring! And why not make a duplicate of it too… just in case ;-)…
So, I would like to know: if you would have to name one KEY to your success, what would it be? What is this one resource that you’ve been using over and over again and that brings you the results that you aim for? Of if you believe that you have not found it yet, what is that KEY that you need to be (more) successful with your strategies?
I am curious about your answers!
Inspiringly yours,
Caroline