Today I was at my daughter’s elementary school energetically chatting with several moms about the usual “stuff” when through our conversation I discovered that one of the other mothers went to high school with my oldest son! I wanted to cry! When did I become so old? I melted quietly to my car to hold a pity party for myself. Not only did I feel bad about my age, I suddenly felt sore from my workout, tired from a bad night’s sleep, out of date with the technology, abhorrently unorganized, and desperately inefficient! How quickly my mindset had gone from happy to hopeless!
Interesting how one small comment could create a mountain of voids in my mind. The negativity was overwhelming. Now here’s the thing, I am a motivational speaker and I needed to go back to my office to work on a presentation to inspire leadership! Yuck! I have been coaching on this topic for many years and it was time for me to practice what I preach!
Leaders with high Emotional Intelligence have the ability to self-motivate. Imagine your favorite leader- Did Abraham Lincoln or Martin Luther King always feel confident and worthy? No! What set them apart from others was their ability to motivate and inspire themselves each and every day. They heard the same little voices in their head that pop up occasionally for you and me. They just figured out a way to overcome the internal wave of negativity!
One way or providing self-inspiration is to simply make a list of all of the things you do well. This doesn’t just apply to individuals. Work teams and organizations should do this too. When was the last time you held a meeting in which the only task for the attendees was to rave about their accomplishments? Sound silly? It’s not! When people focus on what they have done they soon recognize what they are capable of doing! When folks make lists of all of the resources available to them, they stop whining about what they don’t have and get busy doing something with what they do have. Teach your staff to see abundance in the organization, in each other and in themselves! Be your own cheerleader! See the glass half full! Focus on abundance!
So, who inspires those who are paid to inspire others? They inspire themselves!
He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not,
but rejoices for those which he has. -Epictetus