All leadership,
Whether that is being a CEO,
A parent,
A teacher,
A senior nurse,
A thought leader,
An older sibling,
Or any other form of leadership,
Requires us starting with ourselves.
We have to lead from within before we can lead or guide others.
It can be a scary thing or even simply something we just don't give a thought to and aren't familiar with,
But not leading ourselves comes at a cost.
Some of the key costs of not coming back to ourselves to self-lead include giving ourselves and our power over to others,
Losing our sense of self,
Being run by our emotions or inner critical beliefs,
Especially if we aren't aware of them or deny them,
Diminishing our power,
And struggling with overwhelm,
Which leads in the long run to burnout.
All of these things lead to feeling negatively about ourselves and our risk factors for our mental health,
So what does it take to self-lead?
A willingness to be with yourself.
From there,
Learn to accept,
Like,
And love yourself.
To know your inner compass.
For me,
This is a bit like Lyra in the books,
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman,
With her alethiometer and the points around it that guide her.
We need to know what the points on our compass are,
Which is our values or our guiding principles,
And to know our true north,
Our purpose or where we're headed,
As well as knowing how to check in with those things.
Then there's knowing where you have control and where you don't,
So that you can take responsibility for yourself on sure ground.
Knowing your boundaries and being willing to implement and communicate them well.
Being able to find space within yourself so that you can be present and check in with you,
Whatever is happening in life and however you're doing,
And then to embrace all that you are.
I wonder,
What is in your way of leading yourself from within?
And what is the next step towards leading yourself more fully?
