A leader is someone who guides, directs, commands, and leads. We live in a culture that trains us into looking outide of ourselves for that leadership and we spend so much time believing and buying into the message that someone else must be in that role. We search and wait, often feeling powerless to guide our own lives. So, what if we lean into the idea of leading ourselves? What if we searched inward for the answers, motivation, and inspiration that we are hoping for from and outside source? What if we began to guide our own lives and trust our own intuition?
Personal leadership is how we can begin to live the life that we desire as well as influence others to do the same. The bad news is that it takes effort, practice, failing, and trying again. The good news is that we will feel empowered, fulfilled, purpose-driven, and more grounded in ourselves.
As we look at how to become our own personal leader, there are many facets we must attend to. First, we must recognize that we can shift, direct, and protect our own health. We can lead ourselves into more thrive as we take on the responsibility of recognizing what our bodies need and what patterns we are living in that are working against our ability to thrive. This means making decisions based on our own personal needs rather than getting swept up in what others are doing regarding rest, exercise, diet, and self-care.
Next, we must be able to acknowledge that as a human, we are an emotional being and that in many ways, our emotions drive how we show up and react to the world around us. We must practice recognizing and labeling our emotions, identifying the signals that show up in our bodies when our emotions take over, and processing our emotions in ways that are in alignment with compassion and connection.
In personal leadership, we must also learn what it means to think critically in decision making and recognize the purpose of and the role the critic in our minds plays. To lead ourselves, we must look at what is happening in our lives and uncover the precipitating and contributing factors, our part in what is happening, how it is impacting others, and who is benefitting. We must also learn to recognize the critical voice in our heads as the protective, and often overly dramatic, voice of our survival response rather than the speaker of the truth. So, we must take the time to decide what we believe, who we believe, and how we act on what we believe.
Because we are human and we cannot thrive without connection, we must also consider how leading ourselves will impact our families, friends, and communities. Being a leader for ourselves sets an example for our kids and shows those we are in contact with how to lead themselves. This also means leading in our relationships by practicing healthy communication and boundaries respecting what is ok and what is not ok for ourselves and for others.
We have the ability and the responsability to lead ourselves and our lives in a way that allows us to experience more joy and thrive and to show up in the world to contribute in our unique way. The world needs more people who are practicing personal leadership and fewer people who are blindly grasping at what someone else tells them to do, feel, be, and believe.
This week, I invite you to notice where you are being led and by whom. Are you ready to take the lead in your own life? Step up and see how you can be your own leader.
I will be practicing right along with you.
Chat again soon,
k