In the movie "Facing the Giants" the coach is a true example of how one's attitude can make a difference. He challenged his players to change their attitudes, both on and off the football field. Leaders sometimes forget or just don't want to realize that their own attitude will determine the attitude and spirit of those that follow them. In th big things and in the little things! Making sure people know they are appreciated goes a long way. Addressing problem areas in the right context and at the right time can make all of the difference.
We can learn a great deal from the dandelion. "The difference between a flower and a weed is a judgment." This quote speaks volumes to me! I think back to a time when I was a child in my grandmother's yard. The dandelions were out in full force (in dandelion dust mode, when they are white, not yellow). I of course loved to pick dandelion after dandelion, close my eyes, make a wish, and blow as hard as I possible could. If all of the dust was gone when I opened my eyes, my wish was sure to come true. I remember my father scolding me for taking part in this childish activity. It was not that he didn't believe in wishes. He just knew that the more I blew that dandelion dust across the yard, the more dandelions would pop up, creating a yard full of them rather than grass. In my childish mind, there could be nothing better than a yard full of dandelions. I didn't quite understand my father's objection. As an adult, with my own yard, I now see his point. Dandelions can be quite annoying as they tend to consume the area around them. However, I often stop and force myself to remember those childhood wishes. It is with that spirit that I stop, pick a dandelion, close my eyes, make a wish, and blow with all of my might.
As leaders, we are more effective when we see dandelions as potential and be encouraging when dandelion dust flows and spins around us, than when we see dandelions as weeds trying to infest our territory!
Close your eyes! Make a wish! Blow! Blow! Blow!
6 years ago
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3 comments:
Being a leader can be a very difficult thing. You always have to be "positive" because if one person sees you down, it will not motivate them to do better. When i think of a leader in my life, my sunday school director comes to mind. She is very driven and always positive. she always tells me, i can do anything, as long as i put my mind to it and stay focused.
After being on the United Methodist Youth Conference Council on Ministries I have learned just how hard being a leader can be and just how much your attitiude can affect the people around you. My very first year on the youth council I was put in a situation where one other girl from the council and I were put in charge of a family group(sort of like our pack groups) with about about 20 or 25 teenagers. Our adult leaders basically just told my partner and I that they didn't want to do anything and that the group was our responsibility that they were just there because they had to be. Now my partner and i could've gotten mad and said no we won't take the responsibility or we could've gotten scared and said no we aren't trained enough to do this but we didn't we took on the challenge and after 2 days of struggking to get our group to bond, get to know each other, and just have fun and after trying to fight for the respect we finally succeeded, our group just like suddenly bonded over night and became the best group my partner or I had ever worked with. Thanks to my partner and i being there for each other and helping each other over come their adversities and be each others strenths and weaknesses we overcame what we believed to be the impossible at the time.
If you work in any sort of job, then you can see what effect a bad attitude has on the whole crew. If someone comes in with a horrible outlook on the day, then that will cause others to be the same way and performance will go down. One must have a good attitude or at least look like they have one so that others can do their job to the best of their ability.
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