How to Create Order in the Middle of the Chaos

"We all have some systems in place, whether we realize it or not. They may not be the best systems, but look hard, and you'll find them."— James McPartland

Access Point: Courageous Conversations | Blog post by James McPartland | Speaker, Author, Executive Coach

When we talk about life having twists and turns because the journey has no straight lines, I would add that without this final piece of our learning acronym—what I call our "systems"—life wouldn't only be without straight lines; it would be downright chaos.

Our life systems are the congruent mechanisms we operate in, which we intentionally design to keep bringing us back to tracking our goals.

Because more important than intensity in anything we pursue, is consistency.

Systems allow us to create a framework in our world, and just so we don't confuse habits with systems, here's the difference: Habits are regular tendencies and practices we develop as individuals. Systems include the practices we put in place for both ourselves AND the people in our community.

We all have some systems in place, whether we realize it or not. They may not be the best systems, but look hard, and you'll find them.

I can remember when one of my longest-standing team members first joined my team and marveled at how in the world I managed so many coaching clients without a real system in place. She asked me if I had a system, and I said, "No. It was just me and my cell phone." She said "Well, that's your system then. We just need to improve it."

So as we wrap up this No Straight Lines series next week, I'll walk you through many different examples of systems you might want to consider either re-evaluating or establishing.

But to leave you with food for thought until next week here are some questions to be thinking about:

As it comes to my goals, how am I keeping track of progress?

Do I have as system in place to determine my top priorities?

Do I have accountability in place where it's needed?

Are my key relationships being invested in? How do I ensure that?

I'll look forward to unpacking this a bit more next week! Stay tuned for the conclusion of this No Straight Lines series.

Mac 😎