Awareness of Possibilities – ElPropósito5 min de lectura

When the signals are strong enough

Photo by Benjamin Wong on Unsplash

"Think globally, act locally." I’ve heard my father say this many times. He once explained that it had to do with a conservation principle (as with many of these sayings, I’m still looking into who said it first). It inspires this Sunday’s post because I heard it twice this week, and when something keeps coming up in my life, I’ve learned to pay closer attention, to recognize when the signals are strong enough and it’s time to act.

The world needs leadership, and for that it needs us to take ownership of our responsibilities. Possibilities become real as much through our awareness of them as through the action we take. Otherwise they stay in our imagination, in the world of ideas. Organizations, countries and any group that exists for a specific purpose need leadership too (ideally a purpose of building, adding and multiplying, under ethical and moral principles that improve the quality of life of every person and of the world we live in).

Leadership is born from awareness of possibilities. Whoever takes action on a course guided by purpose makes a real difference to the traditional way of getting results, a way that grows more obsolete every day, and deep in your heart, dear reader, I know you know which one I mean. Leadership in this century belongs to those who decide to know themselves a little better, to those who decide to think a little more about others, and to those who consciously realize that their decisions also affect the world we live in, their only world.

Possibilities will remain infinite as long as we stay aware of our actions. Little by little, we’ll also make them finite if we keep making decisions that create unpleasant places to work, live and be. Light, joy and happiness radiate from anyone who humbly helps others see that the world is within their reach too, who encourages collaboration and keeps little or nothing for themselves.

The signals are strong when they revolve around our purpose. Sorting the signals is a task, and acting on them is a responsibility, yet it becomes clear that knowing our purpose on earth ends up being the core our actions and decisions revolve around from then on. As I’ve written in other posts, living by our purpose takes courage, openness and humility, values that are rarely cultivated or taught. The good news is that the first, fundamental piece of leadership starts with ourselves ("Know thyself").

With a new month about to close tomorrow, and as a line I love goes, "…giras y giro de vuelta al camino de vidas vividas al pasar": How can we become aware of all the possibilities around us and let our purpose guide us to what we’ve always wanted? How can we see how strong the signals are and take action? What else do we need in order to act locally?

Warm regards,

Rodrigo Baccaro

P.S.1 This week’s VELA:

• What I was Watching: Chronicles of a psychiatrist in New York. BBVA’s interview series is one of my favorites. This interview is lovely, very special and well worth watching. What I’d highlight most is how self-esteem can take root even in life’s worst situations, which turns out to be surprisingly central to the video. The humor is spectacular, and I really liked that they mention a Guatemalan doctor.
• What I was Listening to: Climate crisis: the future is built today. A great talk by Pope Francis on the climate crisis. Remarkable.
• What I was Reading: A Field Guide to a Happy Life: 53 Brief Lessons for Living. A short book I’d started and left halfway. I picked it up again after (finally) finishing Jordan Peterson’s 12 Rules for Life, by far one of the best of 2020-2021. It’s a short guide to Stoicism. Massimo Pigliucci is a philosopher I follow, and his writing inspires me a lot, especially what reaches me through Patreon, where I subscribe to all the content he keeps posting. (On the reading front, I’m especially happy today because I’m finally going to buy my next book. I’ve committed to not buying until I finish the current one. It’s hard to stick to, but I managed it in 2020. The temptation is strong, and limiting myself pays off in many ways)
• What I was Learning: Coaching. One of the books I keep coming back to, a gem in my library that keeps me learning. Every time I open it, I notice many things I can keep improving in my coaching practice.

P.S.2 Interview with Rodrigo Baccaro, SUN Ambassador in Guatemala. I’m sharing this interview with Virginia Vélez, Trainer and Coach at Success Unlimited Network (SUN) and a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the International Coaching Federation (ICF). We talked about my role as SUN ambassador in Guatemala, how I got started in coaching, a bit about me and many other questions that, as the great coach she is, she knows how to ask. Virginia is also my team coaching trainer, a dear friend, someone I love, respect, admire and above all value, because I know everything that comes from her is good. I still have a lot to learn from people like Virginia, and I’m grateful to life for letting me know her. Thank you, Vir, for this interview.

Author: Rodrigo Baccaro

Linkedin