'Choose to Challenge' will help you to become a woman of substance

When you bring these 4Ps together and make it a cohesive operational framework your ability to live the tag line, 'choose to challenge' multiplies manifold. However, when you take a piecemeal approach then your returns tend to be fragmented

Life is like a board of snakes and ladders wherein we are presented with multiple situations and the choices we make in each of these situations carries within it the potential to shape us and our life and hence it is often said we are a sum of our choices. Our habits are a result of our choices, our fitness is a result of our food choices, our growth both at personal and professional level is a result of our attitude choices so on and so forth. Wherever we are today it is the outcome of sum of choices made in the past.

This year's woman's day theme is, 'Choose to Challenge'. Now how you do choose to interpret challenge defines how you live and action this tag line for yourself this year. The dictionary meaning of the word challenge is a call to prove or justify something; a much appreciated, valued and a powerful attitude or a sentiment to have however if not careful can take a negative spin at the blink of an eyelid and one runs the risk of being interpreted as defiant, stubborn, disrespectful and even undisciplined at times. 'To challenge' by itself can be a crippling sentiment but to know & understand how to choose what to challenge and how to lend meaning to your challenge gives your choice a purposeful drive.

The 4P framework that I am going to share below moves you from vanilla, 'choose to challenge' to 'Impactful choose to challenge' and as you go through the article you would see the framework play out the word 'challenge' at two different levels (1) Choose to Challenge Yourself: Your thinking, your mindset, your beliefs, your values (all that is internal to you) (2) Choose to Challenge status-quo, people's beliefs & values, situations (all that is external to you) etc.

You would have heard that story about the power of unity - it is easy to break one twig at a time but when you tie multiple twigs together into one big bundle then breaking this bundle becomes extremely tough. Similarly, when you bring these 4P's together and make it a cohesive operational framework your ability to live the tag line, 'choose to challenge' multiplies manifold, however when you take a piecemeal approach then your returns tend to be fragmented.

(P1) - Purpose: Take a moment to ask yourself what is that life's purpose that guides you in all your choices? Do you consciously bring that 'purpose' to the forefront of your thinking whilst making choices? As a woman leader who wants to make a difference at home, at office, in society how is this life's purpose helping you make wise choices, assuming it is in an active mode at all times? If you do not have one or have not thought about it till now, then this is the time to do so…

l Example: Let's say your life's purpose is to SERVE. This then becomes your GPS that guides you through all your choices and decisions, and thus permeates every aspect of your being. For example, it would be safe to say fitness of body, mind and soul is central to you living your purpose, "SERVE", to the best of your ability. Now! the minute you acknowledge this which in itself is a choice your journey of making choices and choosing to challenge to ensure fit body, mind and soul starts.

You have a choice to challenge yourself to write your own script or let others write for you. Choosing to write your script that allows you to serve effectively, cheerfully, powerfully at every opportunity. It will put you in a frame wherein you would need to choose to challenge; yet again that choice is yours!

(P2) - Pick: Choose to Pick what to Challenge: Wise often choose their battles and for doing that knowing life's purpose is very important for it helps filter what to challenge and what not to deliberately and consciously. Laser focus energy is far more powerful that scattered energy

l Continuing with the earlier example – Does my choosing to challenge myself and those around in a given situation, dialogue or an interaction compliment's my life's purpose which is to "SERVE" – Serve to excel, serve to create new records, serve to bring cheerfulness into discussion, serve to achieve objectives and goals

l Few questions to ask yourself: How I am challenging myself, or the status-quo or those around going to add value to self, to those around or to the situation at hand? What is prompting me to challenge – a larger purpose, goal, an objective or just the need to justify or prove self; the classic definition of challenge? What is at stake if I do not challenge?

(P3) - Pursue: To challenge and to choose to challenge (P1&P2) is far easier than staying on the chosen path. There is a difference between choosing to challenge and going through with the chosen challenge. It is the ability to pursue with consistency and determination through the tough choices that you have to make at times and your desire and ability to take all along with you that makes "Choose to challenge" worth your while. It is the courage and stamina to stay on the path and the tenacity to 'go through' the choice made that makes a difference and separates you from the crowd. Remember 'to choose to challenge" is the beginning… you then need to walk the talk

(P4) Peace: Think of self-doubt as sin for it robs you of your confidence and peace and when these two are missing achievement and excellence tends to become evasive. The moment you chose to challenge, you made a powerful choice and the responsibility to give life and meaning to this choice is yours which can be best done by a peaceful mind; a mind that foresees the value of choosing to challenge. Remember, it is not right or wrong; pass or fail; Me against the world instead it is about challenging with a purpose, learning and adding value to self and others along the way and growing & evolving together. When you choose to challenge from a place of life's purpose, the congruence with your internal compass is a source of peace that fuels forward movement with confidence

Whilst it is important to choose to challenge, what is even more important is to earn/ build credibility as you pick and choose your battles. 4P framework when followed in entirety provides you with a platform to not only choose to challenge but also to build the desired credibility, to grow stronger, confident, more informed, more wise and most importantly more daring in a significant manner

I remember reading a line that said every commitment kept helps build a character similarly every time you "choose to challenge" purposefully and meaningfully it helps you become a woman of substance in the true sense

(The author is founder and CEO, HUMEX)