There are the forces at work in the world that demand every single person in it to operate at their highest levels - to be absolutely empowered to transform themselves, their lives, their organisations and their societies.   

 

Our world is changing at an accelerating pace. The nature of work, who does it, and where it is performed, is being transformed, to the extent that many secure jobs are being lost and the ones that people are being trained for may not even exist by the time they have acquired these skills. Information is bombarding us at such a rate that it is impossible to sort fact from fiction, relevant material from junk; yet we dare not slow the flow for fear that we may miss some important pearl of wisdom. Long standing institutions such as governments and universities are crumbling, and the very structures of societies are being challenged. The conclusion that many draw is that as individuals we must be more adaptable, flexible, and ready to change, sometimes at a moment's notice.  

 

 

In this age, strength comes from flexibility. At no time in history has this old adage made more sense.  Picture trees that can bend in the wind; water that flows around large, immovable obstacles. The danger is that in being flexible - flowing with the currents and whims of those around us - we stand for nothing, we wait for direction, rather than steering our own course; and we lose our essential selves in the amorphous mass of conformity.  

 

The key, I believe, is to distil what is essential to you when everything else is peeled away - what remains, and being totally solid on this. This is that part of you that does not change, but grows with every new experience.  This sense of self comes from and gives you purpose in life and stay with you regardless of the job you are in, the people you are with.  It is constant. 

Find that, and then ask your self: "Is my life and my work allowing me to be that?"