The Three As: Awareness - Acceptance - Action
Awareness Acceptance Action
Or in other words, getting aware, then accepting and our understanding that there is a way through any situation
In my private life, in my decades as competitive sportsman, and on my jobs as craftsman, paramedic, architect or now as designer - I never call it in question that I have to be aware of, review, comprehend and perhaps dig into the circumstances, driving and influencing aspects and use my empathy. And that is even more true when it comes to self-awareness.
The first step toward change is awareness.
If we feel that something as it should be, can be, might be ... that we suffer, that we are not happy, or can not accept something any longer ... and I firmly believe that is true for personal life as well as professional life. I verily believe that our mental health needs this as a basement and that happiness grows in a kind of balance to our ability to accept circumstances and situations for what they are.
The second step is acceptance.
What I like to stress from the very first line is what I do not mean. Acceptance is not having blinders on / to wear blinkers like a carriage horse - where blinders make totally sense as two or more things come together a flight animal, escape behavior, and more. Going through your day with blinders on is, how I would 'see' it, simply a choice to ignore what’s going on around you. And that would be not what you should have done in the first step. Looking at you, looking at circumstances and situation, look at other. Becoming aware of what’s working for you and what’s not, will allow you to either accept your current situation with greater empowerment, or propel you to seek another path. Either way, the choice is yours. The awareness and acknowledgment of what is, what is good, what is not so good ... , the strength and willingness to do something about it, and the wisdom to actively choose the path that best fit.
You see / feel and hopefully understand that awareness and acceptance goes hand in hand. And yes, for sure there are moments in life where hand-holding is not easy - but as long as two fingers touch each other or feel the aura of the other - I would say it's OK.
A few more thoughts about acceptance. It might looks like or sounds like it would be passive state - a kind of enduring, tolerating, or giving up. That is not what I mean. Actually, as I see it and how I understand it, I see acceptance as a or the most powerful stance in the world - or at least one of them.
It stand for me for ...
- recognizing reality AND the fundamental attitude and thinking that I am in charge of how I want to live my life
- that it is t is within my power, and part of my existing to impact my life
- and if I accept myself and the circumstances as they are, I am actively choosing to do so or not
This kind of acceptance brings me and might bring us peace of mind and gratitude for even the most imperfect situation. And believe I had already enough of such imperfect moments - and I am pretty sure you too.
And now comes the action.
If you have passed step one and two - even 'passing' is not the best term, as awareness and acceptance is an ongoing process - then you are way ahead on the path of life than many others!
Taking action for a change in life, towards your dreams and goals is clearly vital, but it's not always easy to stay consistent and build momentum.
How do you motivate yourself to take action , to continue, working toward your goals, especially when you face challenges? Do you have your proven techniques?
I will list a few things how I do it, others had success - Although some techniques will / might motivate you more than others, it's good to experiment with several different ways of finding your way and your motivation.
What I can suggest:
1. Visualize your target, outcome, goals
Not only because I am a visual thinker, I suggest to visualize where are you heading to. By visualizing you gain a clearer picture of your goal(s). While you may have an idea of what your goals are, visualizing them in detail can give you a clearer picture of how to move forward - in best case you can feel how it would be to be 'there', where you like to start your journey to your goal or make some adjustments on your goals or towards your goal. In addition, you increase the attainability of your goals with visualization and you can enhance your motivation.
2. Don't hesitate to ask for the help you need
Don't be afraid to ask for, getting or accepting help from others. Sure and no question you'll have to accomplish certain things on your own, but if there's someone who can help with words or deeds, why not - consider that possibility and ask them - might it be spouses and life partners, family, friends, colleagues or even new relations and contacts.
3. Slice and dice your goals into smaller, attainable steps
The complexer or bigger your goal might be, break it up into a series of small steps. Steps you can oversee or even handle. Steps you know you can achieve. When you have accomplished a step, celebrate and reward yourself , do it your way, a nice lunch perhaps with the people who helped you or accompanied you. With small steps, you'll be more likely to stay on task because your rewards come often. And each step you made, each milestone you can mark is as well a good moment to visualize again - checking how it feels, adjusting if needed, and to continue or to make adjustments.
4. Know and be honest with your limits
You know yourself best and only you can identify your personal limits. If you move too slowly, you'll know deep down that you could be taking more action. However, when you try to do too much, you risk burnout - you know your frequency, your physical and mental balance best.
5. Find what energizes you and know what can or might distract you.
Sometimes you'll find that there's a period in the day where you go into a slump - e.g the typical mid-afternoon energy slump. Or you everything but not an early bird - you you see yourself more like a nighthawk. And there might be a few people, events or things that might be more likely to distract you than others. Remove yourself from these situations when you know that you need to be taking action.
Positive side-effect of the 3 As ´...
By working on awareness, acceptance, action you are becoming self-aware and understanding your strengths and limitations, you open up opportunities that just aren't available otherwise. You're also able to have more honest and genuine relationships because the people that you're attracted to will be attracted to you for who you actually are.
Comments are welcome - even I will not publish comments (for good reasons) I will read tehm, and reply if needed and possible.
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