Leadership: Unleash Your Uncomfortable
When was the last time you were really uncomfortable? Miguel (my son) is not a big fan of brushing his teeth. He often runs away or bites the tooth brush so hard you can’t brush his teeth. This got me thinking about being in a state of discomfort. Leadership is about stretching yourself to try new things, to be afraid of the unknown but to take action anyway. Part of leadership is accepting that you will be uncomfortable at times, and once you accept that you can then dance with it. Have more fun with discomfort and even welcome it into your life. When you stretch a muscle it will often grow back bigger and stronger. That is what we want of your leadership, to stretch and then grow stronger to impact more people in your life. I just finished up a talk at local nonprofit for 70 staff members on “Leading Your Social Impact Career.” Even though I have given hundreds of talks over the last decade I still get nervous right before I “take the stage,” especially when I am giving a brand new workshop. I do find that practice is a great weapon as you confront your fear of being uncomfortable. Much of the time, the more you can practice, the smaller your fear becomes and the easier it is to dance with your butterflies. Remember to gently accept being uncomfortable, and this will help you to unleash your powerful leader within.
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