"Embrace the space" was inspired from the words of Dr. Viktor Frankl, the Austrian psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor who released Man’s Search for Meaning in 1946, following his release from more than three years in concentration camps, during which he lost his mother, father, wife and brother. In his words, “between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” This visualization of space has profoundly impacted how I’ve viewed my challenges, as well as my opportunities. It has helped me to learn that there is space for intention, there is time for consideration, and there is grace for unknowing.
The space between a stimulus and a response can be years long or infinitesimally small. But there is always space. And we own it. Choosing what to do happens in this space. We must be intentional in our actions, otherwise the response is not ours.
At times, I have had to learn how to wait in discomfort, uncertainty, and unknowing, to embrace this space. We are doers by nature. Oftentimes, though, our best course of action reveals itself in waiting.
Other times, I’ve had to create a space with an exhale – a moment to remember: how do I want to be in this moment, how do I want to respond in this conversation, in this decision? This has been my core learning from my meditation practice.
We must give space to those we lead, too. Dr. Carol Dweck, from her ground-breaking work on mindsets, shared about growth mindset in leadership. From this, I realized how important space is in leadership. Leaders who lead with a growth mindset grow with people, knowing that others can continue to learn and improve, and in doing so, they help their people and organizations evolve.
There are many ways in which we can incorporate space. Rather than just accepting it, I’ve chosen to embrace it.
Comments