When life and work challenges get more difficult and intense, how can you improve your odds? Let’s learn to activate alignment.

During uncertainty and chaos exact goals can lose their usefulness, and we need new measures for progress: So far we’ve covered momentum and trajectory. Now, let’s improve and empower your alignment. And once again, I’ll demonstrate through analogy using one of my favorite hobbies.

When the path is treacherous and difficult, it often requires technical precision – exact and timely responses. This takes calm confidence and undeniable action. You’re on the move but must be in the moment, focused, and aligned to excellence. To balance and overcome serious challenges requires alignment in ways that are physical, principled, and practical.  

Physical posture affects how you sit, stand, move, and breathe. Lengthen through the crown of your head. Relax your shoulders, bringing your spine into alignment. With better posture, you’ll breathe easier, release tension, reduce pain, convey confidence, and strengthen muscles that support and protect you.

Principled alignment requires you to stand taller in your values regardless of what others are doing. In fact, we mark our contrast by what we must do, or will not do. So align to what you hold in highest esteem, then welcome the tests of your seriousness. Your integrity and other values will simplify complexity, removing some options to reveal the way forward.

Practical alignment shows up in our choices: the people, work, and words we align to and the way you spend your money, energy, and time. Just as with the mountain unicycle, even small subtle choices can help you avert disaster and bring thrilling opportunities for accomplishment.

Then there are the invisible choices of our thoughts. Aligned thoughts empower. However, thoughts of doubt or fixations on obstacles quite often contribute to failure.

If you don’t choose your ideal alignment, you will default downward and suffer the consequences. So use your challenges to activate alignment, and soon your ideal may become your default. Thanks for riding with me, and until next week stay Off Balance On Purpose.