Being good enough
By
We’re trained to constantly improve. We strive to improve our efficiency, to do more in less time, to reduce costs, to be more assertive or less aggressive, to talk more or to talk less in meetings. Annual appraisals often focus on areas for improvement.
People are often driven by fear of not being good enough and this focus on constantly improving exacerbates this. To be authentic as leaders, it’s important to be ourselves. That means being ourselves without allowing fear to drive what we say and what we do. Being flawed as human beings and being ok with that. More than that… embracing our flaws because they are the things that make us human. Allowing other people to be flawed as well because they are human too.
There is nothing to change. There is nothing to do.
What is it to be good enough already?
What is it to be human?
When we are constantly looking for areas for improvement, we overlook how brilliant we already are – naturally.
Putting it into practice:
- Identify 10 adjectives that describe who you are as a person.
- Write them down and read them every day for a week.
- Show them to a friend or member of the family and ask them what they would add to that list.
- How amazing are you?
Know that you are good enough and embrace your humanity.
With love,
Jude. x
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6 Comments
April 25th, 2009 at 9:12 pm
Great post Jude! It’s so important to be happy with what you have and what you’ve accomplished. So many people are obsessed with what they don’t have and what they haven’t achieved that it prevents them from enjoying life.
April 26th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
So true Vin. The more we can be content with what we already have, the more we will realise how great life already is. And that includes everything about who we are as well as what we have and what we do.
April 30th, 2009 at 11:45 am
Thanks Jude, an important reminder. It is amazing how much can be accomplished when the focus is on being happy where you are, without the pressure to constantly do more more more!
April 30th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Did you try Putting it into practice? What did you notice?
May 5th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
I can’t wait to try this Jude! And probably NOT for the reasons you’d think. I want my 11-year-old to do it and I figure if I’m going to ask him do it then I should do it first. I think current society is at a precarious point…the doing, wanting, having has to stop somewhere. Modeling it and pointing it out to the coming generations could create a fascinating shift in our leaders of tomorrow!
May 5th, 2009 at 5:40 pm
OH Sundi, that’s so wonderful that you are in this together. I love that you are empowering your son to be a leader of the future and leading by your own example. I absolutely agree that we can create a shift for the future. You might also be interested in another post called The Future Leaders are here now which is all about how we teach children to be the leaders of the future. It was inspired by female role models but it can apply to boys just as much.