Creating a Moment of Enlightenment that Energizes and Liberates
Some people just don’t get it.
You’re trying to help someone see the light, but nothing changes.
Enlightenment happens when we see ourselves in a new light – when we rethink beliefs and challenge assumptions.
Essentials of enlightenment:
- Enlightenment begins with not-knowing. Those who know remain in the dark. Certainty is the enemy of enlightenment, unless you’re sure you don’t know.
- Stubbornness holds enlightenment at arm’s length. Humility and vulnerability are essential to enlightenment.
- Enlightenment begins with disappointment. The status quo becomes undesirable. Self-evaluation causes distress and discontent.
It feels strange to say enlightenment includes not-knowing. But those who have arrived, are lost.
Know enough to know that you don’t know.
The UNenlightened KNOW. Enlightened leaders change their ways.
Helping others find enlightenment:
Create space for people to see themselves.
The moment of enlightenment often happens when you notice energy and ask a question.
“I noticed your voice grow quiet and you sank a bit in your chair. What’s going on for you?”
“Your eyes just light up. What’s going through your mind?”
“Your voice is energized. What’s different about this?”
“A frown just came over your face. What came to mind?”
Noticing:
Describe energy. Don’t judge it.
Enlightenment requires vulnerability, not defensiveness.
When you say, “You look worried,” they say, “I’m not really worried.” People tend to defend themselves when they feel evaluated or judged.
When you say, “I noticed your shoulders drooping,” they can’t say, “No they’re not.”
Noticing isn’t judging. Noticing creates space for people to explore.
When you shine a light in someone’s eyes, they turn away. But when you notice something they don’t see, they turn toward the light.
Note on stubbornness:
Stubborn people don’t seek enlightenment. Ask, “What if you’re wrong?”
The unenlightened are always right in their own eyes.
What’s been true when the light came on for you?
How have you helped others find enlightenment?
This is great. Those whose objective is large-scale change are disappointed when met with resistance or only small steps in progress. At that point, I see much of what you describe above when judgment is applied to others when the outcome does not match the the desperately desired objective. I know and see people who are at a level 10 with energy and words and pleas for change expect others who may be at a 5 or 6 to match their intensity. Rather than exploring the ‘why’ they fault the difference.
Thanks Will. YOur comment made me think about the resistance that happens when we pressure people.
I don’t like being pressured and most others don’t like it either.
What’s been true when the light came on for you?
All the great teachings, like the Tao Te Ching and yours, harmonize and reinforce each other.
From the Tao:
“Enlightenment begins with not-knowing”
“The more you know the less you understand.”
“To know that you do not know is the best. To pretend to know when you do not know is a disease.”
How have you helped others find enlightenment?
Following and sharing the teachings of the Tao and you : )
“Prepare for the difficult while it is still easy. Deal with the big while it is still small. Difficult undertakings have always started with what’s easy. Great undertakings always started with what is small. Therefore the sage never strives for the great, And thereby the great is achieved.”
“The best soldier does not attack. The superior fighter succeeds without violence. The greatest conqueror wins without struggle. The most successful manager leads without dictating. This is intelligent non aggressiveness. This is called the mastery of men.”
“What is a good man but a bad man’s teacher? What is a bad man but a good man’s job? If you don’t understand this, you will get lost, however intelligent you are. It is the great secret.”
Thanks Bill. The quotes you add from the Tao bring clarity. Love, “The more you know, the less you understand.” One way we live this out is through curiosity. We have to know enough to know that we don’t know enough.
Wow,
Some real eye openers, Love the “Tao Te Ching” reflections.
Good material as always!
Our shining light is there everyday, we need to harvest the resources and Teach the lessons.
happy Friday Dan & followers….
I work in healthcare – Radiology/Imaging
While reading todays post reminded me of a saying we have here in our dept.
When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change
I sure enjoy your daily posts.
-Hank
I’m enlightened by this article! I need the bulb to light up more frequently! Thanks.
What’s been true when the light came on for you?
In reality, my strengths are unveiled while in process with the motivation and fixed challenges enabling me to sum the lost dots.
Humility drives self-discipline with a known variable of knowing what the objective entails.
Recognition for doing a good job, and being let in on things that are going on in the environment is one key that ignites engagement in the team.
Every company for a good with individual roles tagged with them but sometimes trying to please a personality one compromise his/her believes and fail to trade with a challenging principle.
Helping others find enlightenment is a challenge but worth it when you realize it’s value and trade with civility.
Good evening,
I enjoyed reading your piece. Unfortunately, I have never experienced first-hand a leader or manager who “enlightened” me on a personal level. I have found enlightenment in the words of Jesus, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., my father, my mother, my grandparents and friends. Even the words from the former Southern Slaves, in the form of slave narratives, have “enlightened” me. Most leaders and managers I have interacted with keep it “business as usual.”
I would welcome a leader or manager who would “enlighten” me with words of wisdom. I am a deeply spiritual woman and I remain open and receptive to receiving knowledge.