Follow the three Rs:
Respect for yourself
Respect for others and
Responsibility for all your actions.
Nepalese mantra
Inspirational Thought for the Weekend
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Monthly Archives: September 2009
Supporting and Inspiring
When we call someone a leader, what we sometimes mean is that they are the best in their particular field; they are inspiring because of how much they accomplish. To be highly accomplished is impressive, but that isn’t what leadership is about. True leaders are not just high achievers; they also support the people around them to achieve, and, in certain cases, to become leaders themselves. In other words, true leaders do not create a static group of followers. Rather, they create an environment in which everyone can develop their potential. True leaders don’t get so caught up in the forward thrust of their own energy that they forget about others or the larger environment. They set an example with their actions, and they also support others to act. This is why true leadership is so rare.
Not everybody is cut out to be a leader, but most of us have the potential to serve in a leadership role at some point in our lives. When doing so, we might want to be inspired by the highest manifestation of leadership, remembering that we are meant to forward not only ourselves but a whole environment—an ideal, a plan, the people around us. While this won’t be easy, it is the true meaning of the job, and we can trust that we are capable of it. Otherwise, we probably wouldn’t find ourselves in the position to lead.
It’s also possible that we have determined that our gifts are best applied in a secondary position, supporting the efforts of a leader whose vision we admire. In this case, we can ensure that our energy is best applied by holding the person for whom we work to a high standard of leadership. In this way, we take responsibility for our own gifts by guaranteeing that they will be appreciated and developed in a way that best serves the whole.
Inspirational Thought for the Week
A strategy for success. Set your goal, plan and prepare, proceed with full confidence, don’t give up.
-Alonzo Stagg
Inspirational Thought for the Weekend
True silence is the rest of the mind, and is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment. William Penn
Honoring Life Changes – The Wisdom of Fear
Anything worth doing will always have some fear attached to it. For example, having a baby, getting married, changing careers—all of these life changes can bring up deep fears. It helps to remember that this type of fear is good. It is your way of questioning whether you really want the new life these changes will bring. It is also a potent reminder that releasing and grieving the past is a necessary part of moving into the new.
Fear has a way of throwing us off balance, making us feel uncertain and insecure, but it is not meant to discourage us. Its purpose is to notify us that we are at the edge of our comfort zone, poised in between the old life and a new one. Whenever we face our fear, we overcome an inner obstacle and move into new and life-enhancing territory, both inside and out. The more we learn to respect and even welcome fear, the more we will be able to hear its wisdom, wisdom that will let us know that the time has come to move forward, or not. While comfort with fear is a contradiction in terms, we can learn to honor our fear, recognizing its arrival, listening to its intelligence, and respecting it as a harbinger of transformation. Indeed, it informs us that the change we are contemplating is significant, enabling us to approach it with the proper reverence.
You might wish to converse with your fear, plumbing its depths for a greater understanding of the change you are making. You could do this by sitting quietly in meditation and listening or by journaling. Writing down whatever comes up—your worries, your sadness, your excitement, your hopes—is a great way to learn about yourself through the vehicle of fear and to remember that fear almost always comes alongside anything worth doing in your life.