In the April 2022 Newsletter
  The Courage to Continue / Events

The Courage to Continue

Given the current state of the world with war, climate change, pandemic, and economic turmoil, the courage to continue in these 'worst of times' is paramount for all of us. The movie, Darkest Hour, portrays the extreme challenges faced by Winston Churchill, the newly elected Prime Minister, as Hitler aimed his war machine on England. His personal approach in meeting these challenges was, "Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts."

I believe that to survive and thrive in these times — to find the courage to continue — represents a pursuit of passionate purpose. "The pursuit of passionate purpose, as well as its attainment, and relationships along the way bring the real rewards in life," from my book, Pursuit of Passionate Purpose.

Practical Pointers

	CLARIFY YOUR PASSIONATE PURPOSE. Passionate purpose is an intention or goal pursued with passion, intense enthusiasm, zeal, fervor, and interest. What is your purpose? Why is attainment of this goal meaningful? The more meaningful the purpose, the more intense is the passion, and the more noteworthy is the impact. In the case of the Darkest Hour, the survival of the U.K. and the free world was at stake. On a personal level, purpose can relate to health, finances, job, relationships, and many other aspects of life.
	FIND COURAGE. Once you know the purpose is right, it's time to commit to it wholly. The word courage comes from the French root, corage, which means "having heart". If you are clear on your values and the idea serves your spirit and values, then courage comes. With courage to commit comes more passion, zeal, and fervor. This is the energy essential for successful pursuit. In the case of the Darkest Hour, the British people said they would never, never, never stop fighting against Hitler. We feel that same passion coming from Ukraine now. They have great courage. It is contagious and inspires others to help.
	SURROUND YOURSELF WITH SUPPORTIVE PEOPLE. Help and serve others. The most effective Passionate Pursuers realize that it's vital to build relationships with and bring along on life's journey the proper people and support network and also lessen the impact of improper ones. Don't do it alone. In helping others, you help yourself. Recently a massive wildfire suddenly engulfed 1000 homes close to where I live and the community rose up to help. Hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, volcano eruptions, other natural disasters, and war are impacting our nation and the world, but people are coming forth to help. We must be allies.
	PERSIST. Effective Passionate Pursuers use the Persistence Strategy to mindfully persevere with focused determination using a divide-and-conquer tactic and never giving up. The approach is to: (1) commit to a clear purpose, (2) divide the whole purpose into parts, (3) conquer the whole, piece by piece, and persevere with unremitting will to accomplish each part, and (4) seek feedback to assess progress, build confidence, and adjust the action plan.

Summary

M. Scott Peck, in his landmark book The Road Less Travelled, reminds us that "Life is difficult. This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it."

Use the four Practical Pointers above to find the courage to continue, even in the worst of times. Never give up. It is the pursuit of passionate purpose, as well as its attainment, and relationships along the way that bring the real rewards in life.

Upcoming Events

May 11, 2022. Theresa gives a keynote, "Public Service as the Pursuit of Passionate Purpose," at the NextGen conference. Register now for this free, virtual professional development event.

May 13, 2022. Let's meet at the SIM Women 2022 Spring Conference in Denver. It's the Society for Information Management where "IT Leaders Connect". Look for me in red or contact me to schedule a time to chat.

Theresa M. Szczurek, Ph.D.
C-Level Global Executive, Corporate Director, and Colorado CIO of the Year

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