There gets to be a lot of busyness in our day to day world. In the education world we go from 0 to 100 just like that when the school bell rings at the start of the year. It is easy to get caught up in that busyness and we can forget our why and our purpose.
Don’t let the pace of what you do over shadow why you do it.
Don’t let the frustrations over take the moments that bring you joy.
Don’t let the weight of responsibility cancel out all of the training and preparation you have done.
Are you settling for whatever comes your way? Are you letting what happens to you dictate your attitude and the direction of your life?
Don’t settle! You were born for more. If you have a genuine desire to do something that could positively impact others then find a way to do it.
Commit to pursuing your passion and fully using the talents and gifts that you have been given. Remember you have special God given talents and gifts that only you can use to impact your world.
You may need to start small, but start. Don’t worry about having everything figured out. It will work itself out.
Sept. 1, 2021. We turned the page of the calendar today. A couple of weeks ago I started a new trip around the sun headed toward a bigger number. (It’s just a number right?)
We turn over a new page every 24 hours. We turn over a new page every single moment of every single day. Every turn of the page, every trip around the sun, every new day, every moment brings with it a new opportunity. But how many times do we get stuck in the past and we aren’t able to see the new opportunity in front of us.
Why don’t we move on? We think and say things like “That person hurt me”, “My feelings were hurt.”, “They got more attention than I did”, “They got credit when there wasn’t any credit due”. Short story. Excuses.
We get stuck letting the past dictate too much of our future. Our past must be learned from but we live in a dangerous place when we stay there and let it have too much control and have too much influence over our present. If we let the past reign in our present there is no way we can move toward our future. Your future. My future.
I don’t write to tell just you to turn the page. I write today to tell US to turn the page. We’ve come to a new day, a new month and a new opportunity. The moments are fleeting and we miss moments if we live in past moments.
If you need help with your past and turning the page let today be the day you ask someone for help. I am confident there are people who will help you do that or help get you to the right person who can help you turn the page.
I’ve learned from experience that I can’t move forward until I deal with what might be on the page in front of me. It has taken an intentional decision to deal with what’s on the page in front of me. When I’ve done that the page has been turned and I’ve been able to experience a new chapter.
What do you have to do today to turn the page? What’s keeping you from turning it?
The calendar reminds us that today is a good day to turn the page.
Are you leading yourself daily? Are you taking the time to grow and be better so you can lead others more effectively?
We can get so focused on serving and leading others that we forget to take the time to work on ourselves.
Commit time each day to help yourself become better spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically. Read, listen, study and move.
I believe that you will not have a long term impact on people unless you are working on yourself at the same time.
No one will stay the same today. At the end of the day you will either be better or you won’t. Do what you can and where you are to be better today than you were yesterday. Even if it is only 1% better. Move forward on your journey today. Lead yourself then lead them.
Last Tuesday morning I started a new program at Greene County High School called rAM Leadership. The purpose is to talk about what it means to be a leader and what leadership qualities we should all be striving to be aware of and work on. The sessions are open to any student or teacher that wants to engage in and continue on their leadership journey.
Here are a few talking points and highlights from that first session that may be applicable to us all:
Leadership is available to every person. Research suggests that 1/3 of leaders are born with leadership traits and qualifies. That means the anyone can learn to be a leader through study, learning, experience and being committed to being a leader. Anyone can be a leader if they are intentional.
The most important person you lead every day is yourself. Make a commitment every day to improving yourself physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally. If you are leading yourself daily then you will have an opportunity to lead others Ina positive way as well.
It is estimated that we make somewhere in the neighborhood of 35,000 choices per day. Some are more mundane than others but some have a direct impact and correlation on what kind of leader we can become. Other choices define what kind of leader we truly are.
Every person is on a leadership journey. Some are in different places on their journey than others and that’s OK. Don’t compare where you are at to other people. Your journey is your journey and you have special gifts and talents that only you can use. The comparison game robs us of using those special gifts, and in turn, keeps us from helping and leading others.
At the end of each session I will give them two or three things to be mindful of during their week. Here are three things I believe all leaders should be aware of daily.
Be aware of the choices that you make that will impact your growth as a leader and your ability to lead others.
Get Better Every Day. Even if it is only 1% better. Keep moving forward and improving yourself physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally.
Process what you observe from positive and negative leaders. Observe and apply what you learn. The most important step is applying what we learn.
Made For This Moment 