Above/below the line is a powerful concept that can elevate your leadership and decision-making, and have a profound impact on your personal and professional life. As championed by the Conscious Leadership Group, above and below the line is a foundational framework that enables us to navigate our thoughts, behaviours and experiences with intention and purpose.
So, what does it mean to be above or below the line?
Picture a metaphorical line that separates two distinct mindsets. When we’re below the line, we’re in the realm of reactivity, blame, and victimhood. It’s a place where excuses abound and challenges are seen as insurmountable obstacles. It keeps us trapped in a cycle of negativity and disempowerment.
Above the line represents a shift towards empowerment, ownership, and possibility. It embodies a mindset of curiosity, responsibility, and solution-seeking. It’s the state of being where we recognise we hold the power to shape our experiences, overcome obstacles, and create positive change.
By consciously choosing to connect with our location – above or below the line – we reclaim our agency and unlock our full potential. It invites us to cultivate self-awareness and recognise when we are operating below the line. This awareness empowers us to pause, reflect, and accept ourselves for where we are. Only then can we choose a different path.
To shift above the line, we need to let go of being right and blaming others, we need to reveal anything we’re concealing, end drama and gossip, and curiously explore alternative perspectives to the one that we’re currently committed to being right about. Feeling all the feelings that are arising is another key shift move, as is appreciating the situation that’s triggering us.
Shifting above the line requires a willingness to step into discomfort and uncertainty. It calls for the courage to face challenges head-on, reframing them as opportunities for growth and learning.
Watch this fantastic animation on how to locate yourself above or below the line
