Our most valuable skill – resourcefulness

Have you ever been in a situation at work or in your business where you had no idea what to do next?  Ever felt like you were completely out of your depth?  Have you reacted to a challenging situation or event in the moment?

We all face these moments at work and in life.  With the ever increasing focus on immediacy and our reliance on technology, we are frequently just reacting to what is in front of us. Something happens, we react and it’s not always in a productive way. When we react, we don’t take the time to consider alternatives or how and when to best deal with the situation. We feel we have to get it sorted now, get it out of the way and move on.  This desire for immediate action along with having so much at our fingertips now has led us to forget how to be resourceful.

As a result many of us have forgotten just how good it can feel when we find a way to achieve what initially appears inconvenient or even impossible.  The feeling of satisfaction, of success when you have a task or challenge no matter how big or small and you nail it. Done, finished, next!

Take a moment to consider the challenges that leaders with great responsibility face every day – Politicians, Presidents, the Military, Corporate CEO’s. Their challenges are no different to the challenges that mums and dads, you and me also face.  OK so not everyone faces challenges of the same magnitude, however we all face challenges which result in the need for us to draw on our ability to be resourceful, to find a way. To find the right question that leads us to a beneficial solution.

A group of colleagues and I were recently issued a challenge, to get at least 50km away from our base on the Gold Coast and back. Sounds easy right – well there were rules to force us to dip into our resourcefulness. We were given $5 and a bottle of water, nothing else but our ability to find a way. Think about it, how would you deal with that? With 10 minutes notice, you are out the door with no idea how or why or what the?  Nearly every one of us achieved the objective, we found a way.  Personally I managed to get to Byron Bay, help some people, spend some time coaching a homeless guy who I gave my $5 to and get back to base all within about 7 hours. I trusted in my resourcefulness, my ability to find a way, to serve and achieve a result.

It’s in these times when you think you don’t have the answer that we have the opportunity to shine. To ask ourselves more empowering questions, create a positive mindset. The greatest leaders and achievers in the world are those who can dip into their bag of resourcefulness to tackle and overcome any challenge that comes their way.

It’s amazing what we can achieve when we trust in our ability to solve a problem, to find a way to move forward without the convenience of a phone, a friend, our car, money, nothing but our innate ability to survive.  Human beings are born to survive, it’s a basic instinct that many of us have forgotten because we live in a time of convenience and immediacy.  We have everything at our finger tips and we have learnt to rely on Dr Google to provide us with all the answers.

So next time you get that feeling that you have no idea how or what or why – think again, draw on your most valuable skill. Your ability to be resourceful will help you achieve more than you ever thought possible.  Nothing is impossible when you trust in yourself and your ability to find a way.

If you would like to discuss how we can help you to be more resourceful, leave your details via the contact page and one of our coaches will contact you for a free 30 minute strategy session.