However, I decided eventually that what I wanted outweighed
what I was afraid of losing. Ironically, many of my colleagues
also eventually left and became independent consultants and I
had more of their company subsequently than I would ever have
imagined possible. And I have come to realize that nothing and
nowhere is truly secure. Security is all in the mind. Looking back,
I am delighted that I made the decision I did and even if I could
go back I would make exactly the same decision again.
Even though you have your outcome, your present state
satisfies a need in you. If it didn't, you wouldn't maintain it.
Think carefully about how your present state serves you. It may
seem odd but, for example, someone who wants to be fit and
healthy may find that being unhealthy gets them sympathy
and attention. Equally, someone who is nonassertive but who
wants to be assertive may find that being nonassertive is a way
of avoiding risk and responsibility.
It is important to consider these needs and either how you
will challenge them or meet them in different ways in the
future to leave you free to achieve your outcome. Once you
have identified what it is that you get out of your present state,
you explore how you might satisfy that need but in a different
way through your outcome.
Understanding your higher purpose puts your outcome into
context and opens up options for ways you might achieve it. If,
for example, your goal is to be healthy and fit, the higher
purpose of this might be to be the kind of person who can play
and join in with what your children are doing. If your outcome
is to reach agreement in the meeting, it might be so you are
able to negotiate collaboration for a future way of working
together. And if your outcome is to run your own business, it
may be that your outcome is to create a balance between your
work and your personal life. Knowing your higher purpose
keeps your outcomes in perspective and ensures that you stay
on track with what is important about what you achieve.
Another way of thinking about your higher purpose is to
consider what you will be giving other people by achieving
what you really want. We all have an influence in the bigger
systems to which we belong—the question is what positive
WHAT DOES YOUR
PRESENT STATE DO
FOR YOU?
UNDERSTAND YOUR
HIGHER PURPOSE
ACHIEVE WHAT YOU REALLY WANT: WELL-FORMED OUTCOMES 277