We Need To Take Initiative Because Personal Development Doesn't Just Happen

I had a challenging time writing this post primarily because of how much activity I've had on my plate since I wrote the last one. It's been over two months since I last published about this project! In many ways, this type of delay is how our personal development goes. Life happens, and we move forward with the important (and sometimes unimportant) actions that tend to be short-term oriented and less long-term beneficial. It's not until we get out of this hamster wheel of short-term thinking that we ever move beyond this feeling of wandering aimlessly. 

 

In my first post about this development journey, I wrote about how I ended up in the program through a series of unexpected events. In part two, I peeled back the covers of my life and shared where I'm struggling in life and how I plan to overcome these challenges.

 

So, what community and accountability do you have in place to empower you to become the best version of yourself? Are you waiting for time to magically show up before you put in the hard work?  

 

I've done a lot of growing over the past several years and I've recently been in a mode where I'm motivated to do and act on what I've learned. While I've continued to grow, it's been at a much slower pace than it once was. For that reason, I'm grateful for the opportunity to go through the program. I can already see moments and trends that have positively impacted me since May. Quite clearly and accurately I can say I would not have worked through some of the issues I've faced, and they would have likely been pushed to later.

 

With the Leaders Lyceum program, students are empowered with teaching, structure, community, and accountability to make personal development a priority. The accountability is built within five full-day sessions, and bi-weekly cross-mentoring groups. 

 

The second full-day leadership session was primarily focused on understanding our vehicle. To the Leaders Lyceum, this means we dive into our personality, strengths, and struggles. There was something about session two of the Leaders Lyceum that begun cracking my heart open. A cord was struck as memories and emotions bubbled up at the conclusion. The question "Who Am I?" has a way of stirring us up, or at least it did for me. 

 

Part of understanding who I am includes understanding how I process the world and make decisions.  When we don't take the time to discover ourself, we can easily become a victim to the cultural currents and influences around us. We also can struggle while working on our weaknesses too much and not spending enough time leveraging our strengths.

 

This is the essence of what day two is about at the Leaders Lyceum. Through this day, we're taken through a process where we understand our own personality, how it affects our thoughts, behavior, and other people. We also learn how we can better leverage this understanding to more effectively lead. The personality test administered by the Leaders Lyceum is based on the work of Carl Jung. If you're familiar with Myers Brigg personality testing, it's very similar. While I've taken multiple personality tests and even the Strengths Finder 2.0, this was the first opportunity I had for someone to coach me through the personality types and how it applies to me. 

 

In my next post in this series, I'll dive into how personality is determined and how a fun writing activity we did, demonstrated the different personality types.

 

In the meantime, what steps are you taking to help move you towards the best version of you?