Self-leadership

04 / Coherence

Key question

Does what you do align with what is important to you?

Coherence means consistency: your everyday life, your values and your goals tell the same story. Where this isn't the case, friction arises. That isn't a failure, but a clue as to where you can make a start.

Learning objective: You can assess your sense of coherence, recognise gaps between your values and time, and make more consistent, coherent decisions.

Coherence means everyday life and values tell the same story.

4.1 / The sense of coherence

Understand, overcome, find meaning.

Medical sociologist Aaron Antonovsky did not ask what makes people ill, but what keeps them healthy. His answer was the sense of coherence. It consists of three components:

Understandable

I understand what is happening around me. The world feels ordered, not random.

Manageable

I have enough resources to deal with whatever comes: my own strength, people, time.

Significant

It is worth getting involved. What I do is meaningful to me.

Antonovsky called his approach salutogenesis. A strong sense of coherence helps people cope with stress without being broken by it. It can best be strengthened at the weakest of the three points.

Strengthen the weakest link first.

4.2 / Synchronise values and time

Where does your time go?

A simple mirror: How important is an area of your life to you, and how much time does it actually get? Where the two are far apart, you usually feel a sense of unrest, even if you can't quite put your finger on it.

The gap does not have to disappear straight away. Often, a first step is enough: one extra hour a week for what gets neglected, or one hour less for what takes up too much space.

Time shows what truly matters.

Try it out

Coherence check

Assess the three components of your sense of coherence and compare how important five areas of your life are to you with how much time they receive. Your assessment will be saved.

Sense of coherence · think of your current situation

Comprehensible3/5I understand what is happening and why.Manageable3/5I have what I need to deal with it: time, knowledge, support.Meaningful3/5It is worth committing myself to it.

Weakest: Comprehensible. Write down what you know and what you do not. Often a single clarifying question to the right person helps.

Importance and time · do they match?

WorkImportant 4Time 5

RelationshipsImportant 5Time 2

HealthImportant 4Time 2

LearningImportant 3Time 2

RecoveryImportant 3Time 1

Relationships matters more to you than your time shows. Health matters more to you than your time shows. Recovery matters more to you than your time shows. This is the biggest gap between what matters to you and what you do.

4.3 / Making coherent decisions

Consult your head, gut and values.

Sound decisions don't always feel easy, but they feel right. Three questions help: What do the facts say? What does my gut say? Which option aligns with my values?

If all three point in the same direction, the decision is coherent. If not, it is worth sleeping on it or having a chat with someone who knows you well. In the Flow Principle, this is the resonance transition: the parts resonate together and amplify each other until a pattern emerges.

Harmonious isn't always easy, but it works.

Exercise

Your biggest gap

Task: Find the biggest gap between what is important to you and what you actually do, and plan a first step.

STEP 1

Assess your sense of coherence using the tool and make a note of the weakest of the three areas.

STEP 2

Compare the importance and time spent on the five areas of life.

STEP 3

Choose the biggest gap and formulate a small, concrete step.

STEP 4

Add the step with the date to your calendar.

Review: Does your week feel a little more coherent after this step?

← 03 / Focus & Boundaries

05 / Habits & Cycles →

OVERVIEW

GLOSSARY