Although I am replaceable, when I bring my whole self to work then my unique ability to care for and encourage others is not easily replaced.
This blog post contains my personal LinkedIn entries for May 30 through June 5, 2022.
A personal remembrance
Today is Memorial Day in the U.S. It honors the military, specifically those who died in service.
My father was in Europe during World War II. He crossed the English Channel two weeks after D-Day, seeing his first combat in early July 1944.
He was awarded a Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
After the war, he came home and raised a family.
Today’s Observation: We are what we live when we value family, friendships, and faith.
The Precept: We can make ourselves rich but still have nothing. Or, we can make ourselves poor (by serving others) and have great riches. Proverbs 13.7, paraphrase.
What world events significantly affected your parent’s generation?
What your best self does!
We are encouraged to be authentic. To be our Best Self. Thus, not allow our Worst Self to control us.
But, what actions indicate Best Self?
I think what a Best Self does is know its strengths, then run hard with those strengths. Don’t undersell or neglect those Best Self strengths.
Today’s Observation: Personal growth should focus on our strengths as part of our Best Self. We learn those strengths by building our self-awareness.
The Precept: There’s a story in Matthew 25.14-30 about receiving and using talents. The moral? Those who use and multiply their talents enjoy abundance. Those who bury their talents suffer loss – the talent is lost due to lack of use.
What does your Best Self do regularly?
How to deal with limiting beliefs
Limiting beliefs build up in our lives, over time, because we never challenge their validity.
For example, we say “I’m not enough!”
Well, maybe I’m not enough – right now. Not yet!
But, with focused effort I can grow into what’s needed in regard to capacity and capability to be enough. I saw that process work in my own life.
Focusing solely on my needs diminishes my light. Shining that light moves that focus outward. According to Matthew 5.16 when we let our light shine, others see the good we do and thereby are pointed to God. proverbsforprofessionals.net
Today’s Observation: We need to see a way forward, then pursue that path rather than continue to live with the “I’m not enough” belief.
The Precept: One take-away from Proverbs 14.8 is that critical thinking and discernment work together to help us become more self-aware. The catch? If I’m foolishly overconfident I deceive myself.
What practices help you deal with limiting beliefs in your life?
Our season to shine!
Life is seasonal. In some seasons we are learning much while sharing little.
However, as we build on our strengths, we find our season to shine! That is, to give back out of our storehouse of experiential insights.
Today’s Observation: When the time comes for us to shine we enlighten others with what we have to share.
The Precept: Proverbs 13.7 presents a striking contrast between making ourselves rich and making ourselves poor. The point? When we give away what we have we receive back great riches.
How do you shine by sharing with others?
Where should I grow?
Personal growth pays a high return.
But, given all the choices, where should I grow?
One way to answer that question is to review our life purpose – our WHY.
With clarity about life purpose it’s easier to set priorities regarding what to do and not do.
Priorities often signal us to build new capacity or new capabilities, by recognizing where we are lacking.
Today’s Observation: Clarity of purpose – knowing our WHY – drives when to say NO and when to say YES.
We Live With Purpose, On Purpose by knowing our WHY, then being intentional about pursuit of that WHY through our priorities. proverbsforprofessinals.net
The Precept: According to Proverbs 2.3-4 we should value personal growth above all else.
How does the interaction between purpose and priorities work in your life?
My light – the deliberate living out of my life purpose – burns brighter as I become increasingly more self aware! proverbsforprofessionals.net
I am replaceable!
When leaving a job it’s tough to realize you’re replaceable. Very soon!
But, we personally aren’t our job because our work functions are replaceable by someone else.
However, when we bring our whole self to work then our unique ability to care for and encourage others is not easily replaced.
Today’s Observation: That caring leader who walks in with the task-oriented me each day isn’t easily replaceable. But my over-extended and overly-busy self is replaceable.
The Precept: From Ruth 2.13 we learn that we comfort others when we speak to their heart. In this case, the one providing the comfort held all the power in the relationship, thus portraying a caring leader.
Doing nothing is a symptom of a life lived without a defining purpose. Trying to do everything is a symptom of a life lived without defining priorities. proverbsforprofessionals.net
One critical aspect of leadership is balancing the task-oriented self with the caring self. How do you maintain that balance?
What good is self-worth?
Self-doubt is a challenge.
Especially when hearing negative comments from someone very close to us.
Thus, we need a firm grounding in our own self-worth if we are to function effectively.
The stories we tell ourselves can be true or false. Those stories combine with life events (good or bad) and comments from others, which also may be true or false. Taken together, those stories, comments, and events become the reality we live in each day. Thus, it’s really important to discern what’s true and what’s false. proverbsforprofessionals.net
Today’s Observation: Knowing my self-worth fuels my self-confidence. Together, they enable me to withstand undue criticism.
The Precept: Proverbs 27.6 differentiates the “faithful wounds of a friend” from the “persistent kisses of an enemy.” We must be able to tell the difference!
What are some ways you have been able to separate personal attacks from well-meaning criticism?
