“I’m a single parent.”, I would always say. “Stop saying that!”, my friend said, “You are so much more than that.”
This was my story. I was a single parent to two wonderful kids, Russell and Emily, who are now fully-grown, fully functioning adults.
While it was technically true, I found myself leading from this. It was how I defined myself. Until my friend pointed out that I was also a ‘kick-ass’ woman. Her point was that often when people hear ‘single parent’, they tend to have an image of a harried, stressed, disheveled woman whose 20 pounds overweight, sporting stained pink sweats, in bad need of a haircut, possibly with anger issues. Okay, she was exaggerating, but her point was that, yes, I was raising two kids on my own, but I was also running leadership seminars all over the world, on my way to mortgage-freedom, with a rich set of uplifting friends and acquaintances.
That picture tells a vastly different story, doesn’t it?
It gave me the opportunity to look at myself, my whole self, so I could get a better, more accurate picture of who I really was.
And then I started leading with that.
Try this ONE thing
Take a few minutes to think about how you would describe yourself. Is it accurate or do you need an image update?
If so, right now I want you to make a list of 10 great things about yourself. Don’t worry, you won’t have to show it to anyone. Just make the list and start leading with that.
You know what helps with this process? Having a coach. I have been enormously served by having a coach. I have had great results in all areas of my life by having a coach. If you want to try out a free coaching session, I’d love to talk with you.