Lots of people (friends, family, colleagues) asked me what my takeaways are from day one of the Personal Leadership course I’m participating in. Stimulating conversations sprung out of these questions. And, I must admit. The more I think and talk about it, the more I realize I already gained essential insights.
Actually, the training is all about Positive Personal Leadership. Based on e.g. positive psychology and NLP. I could write a book on this topic itself. So for now, I’ll stick to my personal interpretation. It is all about showing congruent behavior. How does your behavior reflect what’s going on inside? How do you take control of your own life? Do you fully live in the here and now? How self-aware are you? Are you influenced by experiences from the past or do you worry about the future?
To be honest, I feel a bit restless lately. Especially on the weekends. I am on the verge of next step in my career, but cannot fully define it yet (and I love to have a crystal clear plan). I’m also influenced by some stubborn behavioral pattern from the past, which doesn’t help me any more. And I lose energy on a daily basis because of that.
When I reflect on the first three quarters, I made major steps though. Dream trip to South Africa, check. Dream job at Blue Bricks, check. Planning to build our new house together, check. Family pretty healthy, check. Dare to build a blog and become a yin yoga teacher, check. Overall I am 80% more relaxed than last year because of it. But I also feel it’s time for a next step. And that’s exactly what I hope to get out of this training. To become more self aware, at ease and let the next step unfold.
I listened to Oprah’s SuperSoul conversation with Lady Gaga yesterday. ‘ Heal with Kindness’. Lady Gaga is honest and open about mental challenges she’s facing. She focuses on spreading kindness every day. Whether to herself or someone else. When she has a challenging day mentally, she reaches out to someone else. It gets her out of her head and puts her in a mode of kindness. Doesn’t matter how big or small the gesture. Doing something good makes her feel a bit more brave. Because that (negative) mind state is a reality and that reality can change. Maybe not overnight. But if you give yourself some time and be patient to yourself, it can change.
Give yourself some time. Allow yourself to take little bits of courage, kindness, bravery and empowerment every day. Whether it’s to yourself or someone else.
Lady Gaga
It is a practice, really. And I could relate to it. It reminded me of feedback I received during the training. “You don’t have to be ready to fight all the time. And you can be a bit easier on yourself. You lose a lot of energy by pushing the beach ball under water. Can you accept it when it floats somewhere within sight, even if you think it’s ugly?
Remember this classic metaphor? Classic because it’s still true. At least to me. For me day 1 of the training was a confronting mirror. But in a good way. Next Friday and Saturday part 2 of the training takes place. And I am curious to see what I’ll learn next! For now, I’ll try to enjoy this weekend as a human being and not so much as a human doing. 🙂
Click here to listen to Oprah’s SuperSoul Conversation with Lady Gaga
Essence of Change 