It could be debated but it really is totally unimportant for the purpose of this article.
Murphy created a lot of laws. One of them I would paraphrase as follows:
“Nothing is ever as simple as it first seems.”As I said, it could be debated whether that quote is one of Murphy’s Laws. If you want to research it, here’s a website that supposedly offers all of Murphy’s Laws in one location.
Regardless of its origin the referenced Murphy’s Law, identifies a huge problem for anyone trying to meet the responsibilities of being an amazing leader.
It’s true…being a leader can seem very hard!
However, understanding the 4 absolutely critical responsibilities of being an amazing leader is simple. Your understanding would then allow you to live by my newly coined Murphy’s Law:
“Being a leader is much easier than it first seems.”
4 Absolutely Critical Responsibilities of an Amazing Leader
LEARN FROM YOUR PAST
Notice that subtitle doesn’t say live in your past. Implied in that last sentence is a critical point that needs to be made.
There is a huge difference between thinking about things that happened in your past and dwelling on those same things. By its very definition the word, dwelling, means living in some place.
Your past is the worst place for you to choose to live (dwell), if you want a life in the future. And…what is true for you as an individual is true for any organization you may lead.
It’s simple! You can’t arrive at a bright future if you are trapped in the past.
But, let’s step back a minute. Your past is one of your most valuable assets for building a bright future. Why? The answer is your past is loaded with experiences that teach you about you and your world.
Learning from your past experiences is the foundation for building better and stronger experiences in the future. In fact, it is a critical responsibility for you to learn from your past.
Here are a couple of ideas on how to do that.
The first thing you need to do so you can avoid living in your past is to confirm that is exactly what you are doing. Ask yourself some questions for confirmation if you’re currently living in the past.
Do you tend to focus on your past because the future scares you?
Does the highlight of your life remain your thoughts about the awesome time you had at your high school prom?
Is most of what you think about your past focused on the negative things?
Do you tend to think about the good times of the past because you are not happy with where you are now in life?
Clearly, if your answer is yes to any of those questions, you are at serious risk of spending too much time living in your past.
To extricate yourself from the past into doing better in your present consider these ideas:
Force yourself to take inventory of all the good things you have in your life currently and document that list of things.
Celebrate your gratitude for all those things on your list.
Build a plan to use what you learned from your past to create even more things on your list in the future.
Focus on what you can control and move on.
PAY ATTENTION TO TODAY
My point regarding multitasking challenges and the heading for this section of this post relates to past, present and future.
If you want to get the most out of each day, you can’t be focused (multitasking) on either the past or the future.
The idea is to be in the moment by leveraging your knowledge from past experiences. The result is you maximize what you accomplish in the present which gives you a stronger foundation for building toward your future.
It is truly a critical responsibility to pay attention to today, if you are to have a bright tomorrow.
HAVE HOPE FOR TOMORROW
Which brings me to the whole idea of having hope for tomorrow as a responsibility to yourself and to those you lead.
Think about the current circumstances revolving around the refugees fleeing the conflicts in the Middle East, Africa, or Central America. When you look at those desperate people being shown on the nightly newscasts, you see a lot of things in their eyes. Things like terror, anger, hate, hunger but above all those things, if you look hard enough you see hope.
It is their feelings of expectation and desire for a new life that is driving them. Putting that another way, they are leaving their past in the hope of a better future.
For most of us we don’t experience such extreme circumstances, but still we need to feel a sense of hope for tomorrow. Frankly, it is our individual responsibility to create that hope.
Here’s how:
Define the things in your life that are most important to you.
Have clear goals to achieve those things.
Build and follow specific plans for achieving your goals.
Recognize things will change as you pursue your goals, but the goals don’t necessarily have to change.
Adjust to the changes and keep trying.
NEVER STOP ASKING QUESTIONS
Now, the previous 3 critical responsibilities are all better met and enhanced by you meeting this fourth responsibility.
I believe:
Life is not about retiring. It is about constantly aspiring.
Living that philosophy is exactly why this fourth responsibility is so important. No way…No how should you ever feel you know enough to stop learning more in this life!
Life is not a thing. It is, itself, a big question.
Your responsibility in life is to pursue answers to its questions and when you find answers ask more questions. The more questions you ask the more understanding you achieve.
Peace of mind is born of understanding not confusion. Confusion is overcome by asking questions that will develop clarity of understanding.
I hope I have met my responsibility to help you understand your responsibilities for becoming an amazing person and leader.
How did I do? What did I miss in your opinion? Which of the responsibilities will you act on first?Please share your thoughts by commenting below.
And…please forward this information to others by following the social media share link at the top or bottom of this post.
Thank you.
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