They have "put" the idea in our minds that being a "leader" is the domain of a few, of some "chosen"; Although every human being has the power to change his life just by making the decision to do so. This short article is taken from the book "16 hours to Temper the Self", dedicated to Personal Development and Self-Leadership.
To understand the true meaning of "being a leader with oneself", I propose an experience in the simplicity of the kitchen in our homes.
In three containers with boiling water, we place in one of them a carrot; in the second, an egg; in the last one we add two or three tablespoons of coffee and we respect the cooking times of each of the elements, placed in the boiling water.
We will notice that the carrot before cooking was rigid, hard and very difficult to break; while after being boiled in the water, it became a soft body and very easy to crush with a fork.
The egg, with its fragile appearance and a fluid spirit, after passing through boiling water, seems to have undergone no changes; however, by breaking its shell, we will see that this fluidity hardened, like its heart or yolk.
Coffee, on the other hand, dyed the boiling water and even gave it aroma and flavor.
Adversity works with us as "boiling water" did with carrot, egg, and coffee.
What are we in the face of adversity?… Are we carrots, eggs or coffee?
Are we apparently hard and rigid as a carrot, difficult to break, that when faced with an adverse circumstance in life we become soft and on the verge of falling apart in depression?
Are we eggs, perhaps?… as much as our spirit hardens as our hearts, to the point that when an opportunity to love comes, we don't even realize that our feelings are blocked?
Or are we coffee?… choosing to turn adversities into true "challenges" of life, into true "opportunities" to learn and strengthen ourselves.
"Opportunity" is a Latin compound word that means "before the port". That is, after browsing, there is always an opportunity. And without a doubt, if we were shipwrecked, we would have drowned in the sea of disappointments and we would never have reached “good port” to undertake a more prepared trip again, thanks to the learning obtained in that constant navigation of life.
"Self-leadership" is the human condition of self-discovery. It is discovering and enhancing our strengths; it is to accept and transform our weaknesses, exploring the depths of our Inner Self, where the essence of the universe and its principles inhabit.
They have "put" the idea in our minds that being a "leader" is the domain of a few, of some "chosen"; However, do we consciously remember the many times that we have led situations in our lives with total naturalness and detachment? It is not born being a leader: it is something that is learned and for this it is necessary to make the decision to do it with total "determination".
Certainly it is said that: "the art of being a leader" is the "art of being oneself". Art, therefore, is related to beauty; and just as beauty cannot be easily defined, although it is "distinguished" when viewed; this is the leadership of oneself.
When we lead ourselves we are using the tools of the knowledge of SI. We are those human beings who have decided to accompany themselves and "take charge of our own being." That beauty that emanates as an inner light expands outward, showing its fullness, its simplicity and its creativity in the "daily encounter" with happiness.
When I was 3 years old, my parents and my siblings were happy every time, at friends' meetings, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I remember that he always answered "I want to be happy"… "because love is loving until death"… Then, the steps through life made me understand a new meaning of "being happy".
At one point it seemed contradictory to me how it is that you want to "achieve happiness" and, as you progressed in life, you suffered and saw that happiness became more distant. That was until I realized that happiness is not "a goal", but "the way of every day, of the here and now." That it is not tomorrow, nor the day after tomorrow; that it is a lie that "there is no happiness, but happy moments"… And when I realized it, I was answering my "difficult question" (when will I be happy?) Knowing that happiness is "the way of TODAY." From that moment I felt that I planted a seed in myself.
To become a leader is to turn the seed into the flower of "oneself", of authentic being, of being with values, of overcoming the ghosts of fear, of being grateful to the universe and its inexhaustible energy, source of our balance and harmony.
I propose to you to self-answer with real conscience to these questions, every day of your life, at every moment:
- Do I feel victimized by circumstances? Do I complain all the time? Do I criticize others? Do I judge or condemn people and situations? Do adversities direct my life? Am I loyal to my principles and to others? What are the values with which I travel my life? Do I recognize my emotions? Am I managing those emotions that I recognize in myself? Do I self-motivate? How many positive thoughts do I put in my mind day by day? My fears almost take over Always from me? Am I who I am, or am I doing at the moment? Does what I do make sense of my "Being"?
