melanie's thoughts

...and the thoughts of her friends.

Entries tagged "leadership"

New Habits: Breaking the Mind & Body

November 28, 2011

Hebrews 12:7 - Endure hardship as discipline...

Standing at my counter while I make dinner, sweat drips off the back of my hair and onto my neck. It's Monday night and I just finished a really hard BodyCombat class. On Thursday, I ran the Turkey Chase 10K in 56min with my friend, David (@dcborn61). On Saturday, Joshua & I ran a 4+mile hill run and on Sunday, we hiked Stony Brook Park (and by hiked, I mean, climbed a LOT of precarious stairs up to the top of a mountain so we could see the falls pictured here). My muscles ache, I really need a shower and I'm starving, but man, I feel incredible.

I'm inspired to do something.

Evernote reminded me that I had notes from last Sunday (thank you for the sync from my phone!) and after reading through them, I realized that this is something that is obviously on my heart. Pastor Todd (@swirlyfoot) gave a sermon at Church in Bethesda about the saints. He talked about the tough things they went through to become saints but they were never all talk. They had action behind their talk & endured hardship. The sermon was pointed at getting off our butts & doing something instead of just talking about it. Todd told us that each of us could be a saint in our own right if we stopped just formulating ideas and went out to put them into action.

My initial thoughts for this post were about formulating a plan for the next month to get off my butt and show myself what I'm made of physically. The verse above, Hebrews 12:7, is the beginning of a few verses (seriously, go read them) that talk about how God is our Father disciplines us for our own good and and how even when our earthly fathers have done the same, we've respected them. Being able to discipline ourselves to action allows us to correct our own paths.

MIND:
Based on what the Bible is saying here, I know I must discipline my thoughts, my words and my actions to make sure I am wholly good and holy for Him. If I can do that, I'll be wholly good to everyone around me. Being a Christian is so much more than just going to church on Sunday and praying over dinner. And although some of you may not agree with me, being a Christian isn't about just telling everyone that God will save them. Being a Christian is about being an upstanding member of your community in everything you do. It's about who you are when nobody is watching AND when everyone is watching. Finding myself standing here knowing that I'm a leader in my small community, I know it's time to correct my path.

I've always struggled with prayer and downtime. I've always had a hard time just quieting my mind. Running helps  me quiet my mind (we'll get to that next) but otherwise, I'm a million miles per hour in thought. Being able to refocus my thoughts will allow me to be a better Christian AND a generally better human to my community. Ever been around yogis? They're incredibly peaceful to everyone around them. Hmm... we'll see how this goes.
 
BODY:
This goes back to me sweating and feeling amazing yet painful after a few straight days of working out. I'm disciplining my body to do what I want it to and it's respecting me for it. For the last few years, I've been pushing myself to do more but then I fall into a comfortable pattern and end up working out only 3x a week.. maybe. This year, running has become something of an addiction for me but sometimes what I put in my body (fried food, alcohol, etc) doesn't allow me to have the drive to get up and run the next morning. While in this space, I always wonder (even though I know) why I can't break the barrier that shows me what I'm really capable of. In order for me to see results from this discipline of my body, I need to get off my butt and make it a reality.

If you repeat a behavior over and over, it becomes a habit.

My plan is to make these two behaviors good habits. Thanksgiving is now over and Christmas is on its way. These aren't insane plans for having a killer body or being a Christian saint, but they are simple actions that I want to become a part of my lifestyle, not just a phase.

4-WEEK NEW HABITS CHALLENGE:
MIND:
- commit to praying every morning & every evening
- commit to 15-min of quiet time for just reflection every day
- commit to being in bed by 11pm & waking up by 6am every day
- commit to tracking thoughts on paper daily

BODY:
- commit to 30-60min of exercise every day
- commit to eating & drinking only healthy
- commit to stretching every morning
- commit to tracking exercise on DailyMile.com daily

Now that I've written it down and said I'd do it, it's on. I'm ready... are you?
 

Tags: christian, accomplishments, barefoot running, being a Christian, being happy, being healthy, body conditioning, Christian life, encouragement, enjoying life, leadership, fasting, feeling good, goals, God, God\'s power, growth in Christ, Godly life, growth, havits, happiness, humanity, i love running, journey, intentionality, life changing, living life, motivation, peace, patience, peaceful prayer, prayer, quiet reflection, reflection, running, self-awareness, spirituality, spiritual growth, strength training, the bible, thoughts, worship
Comments (1)
1 Corinthians 9: 24-27. Do you not know that in a race all the runners run but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 every athlete exercises self control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we are imperishable. 26 so I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air 27 but I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

Since the ultimate goal is to be like Christ I thought this passage was pretty relevant to what you're trying to accomplish. Keep up the good work and be faithful to our God. He is so good.
Posted by Joshua on 11/29/11 | Reply
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Woman of Influence: Individual

February 25, 2010
It's an interesting thing being a woman. Reading the second chapter of Woman of Influence called "Individual: Discovering Your Leadership Style", I learned that women aren't inherently anything. We are all human beings just like the male population and have very different ways of doing things. We've been classified every which way from Tuesday and the world has finally realized that women shine in such different ways. Our lives and willpower can't be contained in a box or a kitchen. We need the freedom to be ourselves and get outside that box.

Women are very different from men - we work like men, at a steady pace, but tend to take breaks so we can refocus and re-energize. We are much more accessible and make a deliberate attempt to be. We tend to integrate home and work life and don't tend to have a definitive line between the two. Women tend to prefer live person contacts, are able to maintain a broad, complex network of relationships, have longer term focus, don't believe our career is how we define ourselves and love to share information & build relationships. This is powerful stuff. Men are pretty incredible and tend to have a better ability to see themselves as leaders but women are able to maintain a high level of energy. Obviously we need to fix how we see ourselves!

There are 5 types of leaders - we all fit into at least one of them. The test included in this chapter helped me realize that I'm a bit of a Provider, Proclaimer and above all, a Praiser. Let me explain:

1: Provider - Providers see a need and quietly go about providing it. They see the details, work quietly and consistently. Tend to be the people that keep organizations running.

2: Petitioner - Petitioners are advocates. They usually work in law or social work. They want to make a positive difference.

3: Preparer - Preparers are teachers. They want to give their knowledge away and give others the tools to be the best at what they can be.

4: Proclaimers - Proclaimers love to talk. They're usually drawn to sales, service, being a spokesperson or actor. They are storytellers and are typically not born proclaimers but raised to meet God's needs.

5: Praiser - Praisers lead by encouragement. They coach their teams to success. Typically have a strong faith and know God is running the show. They give praise to the people who work with them and stay in touch with people important to them.

I was a bit surprised that #5 was the highest out of all of them. #4 is definitely one that fits me well. I was really introverted as a child but thrive heavily on being around people, especially in my downtime. I enjoy the spotlight but am always trying to give all my knowledge to other people. It really shows me that I need to make sure to give my staff the appreciative notes, show my support for what they're doing and allow them to flourish by hearing that they are on the right track. I've always had a better time in a job when I am being told when things are going well. Many of my previous bosses would tell me when I did something wrong but rarely when they were excited about the good job I was doing.

God has a specific leadership style for you - maybe you don't know what it is or exactly how to be that leader but He will make sure you grow into it. I have learned more about myself and who I really want to be by becoming a boss. I learned from so many bosses in the past that I know what I want to do and definitely what I don't. Taking my leadership style and honing it to fit just what my staff needs is key.

This passes over into the other portions of our lives. In relationships, in friendships, with family, with church family, with acquaintances, with life in general - we need to be the best leader we can be. We don't have to be 'over' or 'above' someone else but we can show by example that we are influential in the most positive way we can be.

Be an individual. You're not like everyone else. Enjoy it and learn how to use it the best way you can!
Tags: growth in Christ, goals, guidance, individual, spiritual growth, leadership, God, encouragement
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