{"id":1742,"date":"2012-11-06T11:13:37","date_gmt":"2012-11-06T03:13:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elijahconsulting.com\/?page_id=1742"},"modified":"2016-08-21T22:56:11","modified_gmt":"2016-08-21T14:56:11","slug":"self-esteem-in-leaders-overused-vilified-06-nov-2012","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/elijahconsulting.com\/self-esteem-in-leaders-overused-vilified-06-nov-2012\/","title":{"rendered":"Self Esteem In Leaders. Overused? Vilified? 06 Nov 2012."},"content":{"rendered":"
Download the pdf here<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n ~ No One Can Make You Feel Inferior Without Your Consent ~ Eleanor Roosevelt<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n If you are a leader, read this with a view to being better equipped to grow yourself. It is only when we grow that we are able to help others. If you don\u2019t think you\u2019re a leader, I\u2019ve got news for you \u2013 you had better be, because you are already a leader if you know people younger than yourself!<\/span><\/p>\n When it comes to questions of self esteem, we seem to embrace a wholesale dichotomy. There are those who extol it as a necessary virtue, while others say to beware of pride. I\u2019ve found that, as in so many cases, truth lies somewhere in the middle, if we would only exert ourselves a little to find it. The same situation arises when we discuss the quality of humility. The entire spectrum of meaning, from severe self-deprecation to hidden pride, seems to manifest itself. The truth is that humility is nothing more than coming to an objective recognition of where one stands in life, and having an attitude of gratitude for people and circumstances that have helped us along the way.<\/span><\/p>\n Self esteem is somewhat similar. It is simply having an appreciation for who we are, recognizing our gifts, capabilities and capacities and deliberately contributing to the society in which we live in our own special ways. I do have a suspicion that we all know this to be true. So why do we allow ourselves to be trapped in a state of constant worry over whether we have too much or too little self esteem?<\/span><\/p>\n The answer to this is fear. Fear of \u201closing out\u201d to others. Fear of rejection. Fear of not being good enough, whether in our own eyes or what we might perceive to be in the eyes of others. I am not talking about a healthy fear of heights, imminent danger or the kind of fear that actually keeps us alive. I am talking about fears of the imagination, fears which we conjure up for ourselves and which keep us boxed in and never able to fulfill all that we were meant to be and do. So how do we go about reducing the level of unnecessary fear? Too many people go down the road of false bravado, which never stands any true test requiring boldness. Here is what we ought to do instead.<\/span><\/p>\n 1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Accept who we are as designed.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/a>Too many people spend their whole lives trying to be like the proverbial fish that thinks its worth is measured by its ability to climb a tree. You can get a good idea of your true gifts and abilities by listing down what you like to do and what you\u2019d like to do given a chance. Go back to your childhood dreams and ask yourself if those dreams are still alive. Be realistic about your abilities. I\u2019m a pretty good shot but I\u2019ll never make it as a champion shooter simply because I need fifty rounds to get myself calibrated compared to a champion shooter\u2019s five. Sure, I might win a championship or two, but would it be worth that kind of effort? I would spend those resources better by focusing on what I do best, which is putting plans into action and discerning patterns that help us decide what to do next. We need to spend more time honing our own innate abilities rather than trying to be like some rock star.<\/span><\/p>\n