Perhaps drive and compassion don’t seem like obvious buddies, but they go together well in times of working towards a goal (like saying an Affirmation anthem for 30 days like I am).
I have been thinking a lot about how I think. I’ve realized that just because I think it doesn’t make it true, that there are thought habits just like there are other habits of routine and mindlessness. You get ready, something makes you late, you follow the same thought cycle you always follow when you’re late. You plan for 15, 19 arrive, you’re unprepared and you follow the exact same thought pattern you always follow when you are faced with the unexpected or your planning still puts you in a place of needing to improvise.
We rarely stop, ask ourselves what we could think, decide what would be the BEST thought in the moment and then go with that one. We just do the pattern and cross our fingers in hopes of never having to live the patterns we dread the most.
Drive is awesome. Goal-setting and foward focused motion is great. So is compassion. Compassion is the unsung hero in this buddy comedy. It swoops in to give ourselves grace and then, if we get closer to it and know it better, it swoops in the grant grace and understanding to co-workers, neighbors, family and friends we’re sure are just derailing our efforts because they aren’t as prepared as we are, they don’t care as much as we do.
Think Brene Brown, “Dare to Lead.” A good leader doesn’t prove their mastery and worth by squashing other people’s mastery and worth, they support it and protect it just like they protect their own. They keep drive and compassion at the forefront and the one informs the other. Gentleness, patience, grace, kindness are not weakness or unproductive. THey are the foundations upon which really strong, lasting things are built. Have a great day.