At Coro, we encourage leaders to look at all of their options and make conscious choices to advance their purpose. In our fast-paced, complex world there is tremendous pressure to act quickly and to solve problems immediately. All too often, we find ourselves acting instinctively without seeing all options available to us and without holding to our purpose. But a pretty good test of how effectively you are leading is the frequency with which you slow down your thinking and consider the consequences of selecting one value over another.
We often think of voting as a purely instrumental act of counting our voice in the tally of an election. But it is much more than that. It is the ultimate opportunity to become conscious-even if only for a moment-and to make a choice in that moment of consciousness. The media and the political campaigns will try to drive us to act out of fear and other instincts on Election Day. Such instincts can cause us to unwittingly make decisions that are not actually consistent with our deeper purpose.
On Tuesday, November 8th, each of us has the opportunity to make a choice that deliberately reflects our deeper purpose as a leader. But it will be way too easy to place our “to do” lists ahead of our obligation as citizens. I don’t want to let anything get in the way of exercising my capacity to choose. So for Tuesday, November 8th, I will swim against the stream and make a plan for when I will vote and how I will to get to the polls. I will choose to shape the circumstances around me rather than to become a victim of those circumstances. If everyone does this, we will create a movement of leaders who are consciously making choices that reflect our deepest aspirations for the future. This movement, more so than who wins the White House, will determine the fate of our country. I’ll see you at the polls.