the courage to act: pushing ideas into reality with the second quadrant
making a move
We’ve all had moments where we’ve felt unable to take the next step. Maybe we lacked clarity, courage, or power. However, we can probably also recall moments where we felt the same way and still took the next step anyway. Something within us pushed past every reason to wait.
For some, we take the next step too readily, to the point of foolhardiness. Those of us habituated to action may take action when waiting may be the smarter tact. (1)
Our team loves the above image because of the twin elements of risk and accomplishment:
Some people look at this image and all they see is their fear of heights
Some people look at this image and see another day at the office
The habit of doing can also be cultivated. We can make a habit of turning the volume up on the demands of our goals and key activities, and we can turn down the volume of that inner critic who tells us every little thing we’re doing wrong. If we listen too much to that voice, and we may never do anything again.
So, no matter where you are and how imperfect the conditions may be, know that you can create Leaning Toward energy even in that unsure, fearful moment. But Lean Toward is found in the doing, not the consideration of doing. (The latter is found in Paying Attention, our first quadrant.)
the secret lives of doers
This quote, oft-attributed to Maya Angelou, inspires us to Lean Toward our biggest goals:
”Nothing will work unless you do.”
In Mason Currey’s Daily Rituals: How Artists Work, he shares the normal schedules of several prominent artists across a variety of media, including, of course, Maya Angelou. (2)
In a solitary field like writing, it’s easy to procrastinate. You can sacrifice your output to constantly second-guessing and revising your work. With no one looking over your shoulder, it can be easy to lose yourself going down rabbit holes. Sometimes, the biggest distractions are the gadgets on your desk and your desktop.
Maya Angelou disciplined herself as a writer. She even made a daily habit of going to a cheap hotel where she would have none of the interruptions and distractions of home. (3) At the apex of her fame, not many people could tell Maya Angelou what to do. She had to be her own boss and set her own rules for success and follow them! Angelou knew nothing was going to work unless she did.
What we love about Angelou’s quote is the brusque simplicity and even obviousness of it.
Leaning Toward is how work gets done.
Someone takes a step.
It can be the writer, sitting alone at their laptop. It can be a team of people in constant sync through Slack, Basecamp, Asana, and every other productivity platform. It’s still individual people knocking out individual pieces of work.
Lean Toward is a reminder that sometimes the best way to figure out what’s next is to do what’s now. If you’re sitting at your desk with that weighed-down feeling that nothing is working, try one little thing. Set a timer for 5 minutes or 15. Send one email.
Put something—some little thing—out into the universe. Take one risk, even a baby-step risk.
“Nothing will work unless you do.”
leaning toward as practice
Quadrant L’s mantra of Lean Toward reminds us to bring our Full Selves whenever we must step out with courage and do something.
And Lean Toward can be a mantra.
When you feel your head filling up with the words, “but what if…” When you realize that you are becoming entombed in fear and self-doubt. When your momentum slows, move your body, change your physical position, and repeat “Lean Toward It! Lean Toward It! Lean Toward It!”
This isn’t to say your next action will be huge or decisive. You might only dip your toe in the water of what’s required. But, to get the rest of yourself in the water, you have to start somewhere.
Sometimes that somewhere is just one toe.
We are creating the thrust necessary to shoot past all our critics, fears, and second-guessing, so we can bring our Full Selves to the immediate next action... And the next… And the next…. All human accomplishment begins with someone having the courage to Lean Toward something that others wouldn’t:
Habitually Leaning In creates success.
how leaning toward fits into the play polarities™️
It’s important to remember that this is still an I-Centered practice, even when the object of our attention is outside ourselves. It doesn’t matter that the object of your action is other people, no matter how good your intentions if the subject is still yourself.
When we Lean Toward, we end up Pushing Outward from our comfort zone.
The action we take is observable by those around us in some way. If you journal to surface understanding, you’re Paying Attention. If you take those pages, share it with everyone around you, and say, “here, I wrote this!” you’re Leaning Toward something. Publication, perhaps? Maybe, you’re sharing your work to initiate a conversation. (For more on powerful conversations, read our next post on Quadrant A.) The vector of growth that begins by Leaning Toward something leads us to push action out from ourselves and into the world.
In improvisation, you could consider this an “initiation,” which means saying or doing something in a scene that offers a direction the scene good go. If others pick up on that initiation and heighten it, you have growth.
In the case of the PLAY Polarities, we would take our initiation of Lean Toward down to Accept, Adapt, Affect so we could grow in our understanding together through dialogue. That is why Quadrant A is our next quadrant.
Notes
Marshall Goldsmith makes this point well. Executives climb up the ladder of success by consistently being the one to act. Then, they reach the level where they are sought not just for their action but for their restraint. Sometimes, the best thing a leader can do is wait, read the situation, and make only circumspect, strategic moves. For more:
Goldsmith, M. (2010). What got you here won't get you there: How successful people become even more successful. Profile books.Currey, M. (2016). Daily rituals: How artists work. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.
If, like us, you’re fascinated by Angelou’s way of working, read the following article. Writer Tim Goessling attempts to follow her daily schedule as outlined in Currey’s Daily Rituals: https://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/i-lived-a-day-according-to-maya-angelous-schedule-and-i-hacked-creativity-dtv/
