Recruiting a Board of Inspiration
Last month, after ushering out an utterly ineffective Board of Directors in my Head, I contemplated who should be nominated to an all-new Board of Inspiration.
To recruit this magnificent bunch, I started by asking myself: Whose words of wisdom would I choose to consciously shape my outlook on life? Who inspires confidence in me to face life’s toughest challenges? Who do I most trust to keep away the Fear Monsters and become a central reference point for the running commentary that influences how I make important decisions or summon the courage to embark on new adventures?
After all, the all-new Board would be providing a consciously-chosen commentary rather than the unwelcome chorus of negative voices I had just kicked out.
Next I reflected on the most pervasive negative thinking obstacles I would need to overcome to free myself of the Fear Monsters. This immediately brought to mind the following words from author Elizabeth Gilbert:
Let me list for you a few things that your creative work doesn’t have to be: It doesn’t have to be particularly good. It doesn’t have to be remotely marketable. It doesn’t have to be world changing. And it definitely doesn’t have to be original. Really, your creative work only has to be one thing: DONE.
Likewise, the all-new Board doesn’t have to be perfect, it doesn’t have to be right the first time, and it doesn’t have to be appropriate for anyone but me. What it needs is to be in place and active so that I can exercise my empowerment muscles every day and keep the shackles of ‘not good enough’ thinking far away.
So without further ado, here is the line-up of new voices I seek out these days, particularly when I sense the Fear Monsters insidiously edging their way back into the Board Room:
Aimée’s Board of Inspiration
1) The Unwavering Supporter
Inspired by: My real-life coach and friend, Sue King
Board role: Generously helps you identify and celebrate the gifts you bring into the world. She is the encouraging voice that every vulnerable (inner) child needs to build up enough confidence to take a leap, even when it’s scary. She is the constant reminder that you have what it takes and that what you bring every day is more than good enough. No matter what your age, encouragement is a central ingredient to courage.
How she inspires me: Like it or not, Sue tells it like it is. Her generous praise is balanced with just the right amount of reality checks. She calls out the self-indulgent, destructive thinking that serves only to reinforce emotional paralysis.
Favourite Unwavering Supporter quote: “That’s a nice story you’re telling yourself right now. How is it serving you to think in this way?”
2) The Brave Prolific Creative
Inspired by: Author Elizabeth Gilbert
Board role: Whether or not you’re a fan of her most famous book, Eat, Pray, Love (personally, I’m in the fan camp), Elizabeth Gilbert is a living example of how to bravely put your creative work out there and let it take its intended course. She embraces the complex creative process, for better or worse, through all the fight and the glory.
How she inspires me: After publishing a bestselling book that was made into a movie starring Julia Roberts and participating in an inspiration tour with Oprah Winfrey (it doesn’t get much bigger than that…), Gilbert still finds the courage to sit down and write. In spite of enormous external pressure, she engages in the creative process — a beast in itself — and expresses her very personal joy and pain in published works, again and again.
Favourite The Brave Prolific Creative quote: “Whatever happens to your work after you’ve finished making it is kind of none of your business.” (This is so much easier said than done. Yet Gilbert truly lives by these words.)
3) The In-The-Moment Champion
Inspired by: Mindfulness guru and author, Jon Kabat-Zinn
Board role: Jon Kabat’s-Zinn’s guided meditations are a warm presence that fills a room with calm. You feel instantly at peace in the presence of his voice. No matter what you may be feeling from one day to the next, you can count on him to be there with his steady, reliable and calm guidance to gently bring you back from the brink of full-on life bananas. If he were on every company Board and government body, the world would be a much better (and happier) place.
How he inspires me: Perspective, perspective, perspective. It’s not easy stuff, but meditation can be life-changing. (This coming from a full-on cynical Type A with a modern-day attention span.) When I worked up to 40 minutes of meditation a day on Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program it literally changed my outlook on life; be it career, relationships, and even daily chores. He brings it all home with gentle reminders that “this moment is the only moment”.
Favourite In-The-Moment Champion quote: “As long as you are breathing, there is more right with you than wrong with you.”
4) The Gutsy Fighter
Inspired by: My hilariously funny New York friend
Board role: Empathetic, witty and unabashedly opinionated, she is an inspiration in herself — uber-organized and endlessly resourceful, she always knows who to call, where to look or what to do when embarking on virtually any new journey. Like the Unwavering Supporter, she tells it like it is. If an idea sucks you’ll know it. And when it’s a winner, she’ll be your biggest champion to make it happen.
How she inspires me: Two years ago during an epic battle between myself and the Fear Monsters, she was there to listen, support, cheer on and celebrate the small victories. She indulged my rants but consistently helped to refocus the bitterness and anger into more positive outlets of energy. She also indulges my wacky dreams and doesn’t think me crazy to seek more meaning in life. This is the definition of a true friend: someone who is there with you through all of the ups and downs.
Favourite Gutsy Fighter quote: “You show those motherf$^%ers…” (Words to live by when it comes to those negative forces trying to drag you down.)
5) The Tenacious Negotiator
Inspired by: My “Financial Genius” husband (nickname bestowed by former colleagues who had it embossed for him onto a polo shirt.)
Board role: He’s the extrovert to my Myers-Briggs introvert — a doer with a relentless work ethic and level of endurance that leaves the rest of us begging for an afternoon nap. He is the toughest negotiator I know (he would definitely give Trump a run for his money in the board room) and is someone that never, and I mean NEVER, backs down from a challenge.
How he inspires me: His action-oriented, “let’s do it, already” approach triggers enormous amounts of energy needed to get a project kicked off, underway and accomplished in record time (when not driving his more reflecting/planning-oriented wife bonkers with a last-minute dinner party for eight or spontaneous house renovation). He sees even the toughest commitments through to the bitter end and never gives up.
Favourite Tenacious Negotiator quote: “Good…we ticked the box on that.”
Watch out, fear monsters…there’s a new team of inspiration in town!
