WHERE LEADERSHIP BEGINS - BY ANG MORGAN

Are you wanting your life to inspire others?

Do you wish to lead them to become the best version of themselves?

Do you long to see others taking hold of their true purpose in life, reaching their full potential?

Perhaps your children, or your small group members, or those on the

team you head up? Maybe your employees or the members of the

congregation you lead? Whoever or whatever you may be leading, this

truth applies to you: Good leadership starts with YOU, as in the person

under your hat!

More specifically, leading yourself well is a

fundamental prerequisite for any noteworthy exercise in leadership. You

cannot truly lead others if your own life is unkept, neglected and in a

state of disrepair, like an abandoned garden. You won’t inspire if you

aren’t first growing and tending your own lot.

I am not for a second suggesting that you need to be perfect. No ways!

Kick that notion to the curb immediately! You don’t need to be perfect to

be leading others, but you do need to be growing your own life and

making the most of what is yours to manage.

Self-leadership involves discovering who you are, what you uniquely possess to offer the world

and how it is that you can do that. Personal growth, honing of skills,

assuming the posture of a student and a willingness to share your

journey are all essential elements in the process.

In essence, self-leadership is largely about stewardship. Stewardship

can be defined as “the careful and responsible management of

something entrusted to one’s care”.

Following this then, the question really is as follows:

What is mine to manage, and how am I doing in this?

I like looking at life holistically and so, I take stock of my life in the

physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual quadrants. Each

component is as important as the other, and in fact, they are inseparable

and have enormous bearing on one another. Their interconnectedness

is undeniable!

You, and you alone, are responsible for your life and your

decisions. Our loving God has given us freedom to choose. He never

forces Himself on us, but entrusts us with our “one wild and precious life”

(Mary Oliver). What a gift He has given us! Surely He loves to see us

making the absolute most of our lot! Better still, He is completely

available to come into each and every space of our lives that we open to His touch. He wants to empower our growth and change, He wants to be

alongside for the journey, helping and guiding us each step of the way.

So then, what is yours to manage? Take a good look at what is in your

hand today, right now. What are you responsible for? Consider the

following:

How well do I manage my time? What am I doing with my 24 hours a

day? Am I wasting precious hours, squandering the minutes, moments

and days?

Do I manage my energy wisely, knowing that it is finite and limited? Do I

know when I am most productive, and do I structure my days to suit

these ebbs and flows?

Do I allocate precious energy to pursuits I value

and refuse to expend it negligently? Do I know what fills and drains “my

tank”? Do I build in sufficient time for energy to be restored?

Am I stewarding my body well, knowing that it is a precious resource

and mine alone to care for? Do I manage my eating, exercise and rest

well? Am I taking responsibility for my health?

How well do I steward my emotions? Am I aware of what I’m feeling and

why? Do I take charge of my thought life or do I allow fear, anger and

anxiety to rule my life? How well do I process emotions? Proverbs 25:28

warns us that a man or woman who “lives without restraint” (The Passion

Bible) or “has no rule over his own spirit” (Amplified) is like a “city that is

broken down and without walls”. On the contrary, leading ourselves well

will mean that we are safe, protected and our lives have good

boundaries. A lack of self-restraint leaves us vulnerable.

What am I doing with my intellect? Am I learning and growing my mind?

Am I a student? Am I tending my relationship with God? Is it intimate and organic and

causing the rest of my life to flourish and mature? Is my spiritual life

growing?

Am I careful with my words? Do I speak in a wholesome and helpful

way? Do my words carry life? Are my actions loving and congruent with

my beliefs? Am I living from my heart and being true to myself? Do I live

with integrity? Am I a good steward of the material and financial resources that come

into my life? Do I spend wisely? Do I give? Do I save?

Are you managing a household and making a home? How well are you

stewarding the space entrusted to you? Are you working magic with

whatever you have been given? Do you make the most of the role and

eagerly put your hand to doing the best for those under your roof? Are

you leading your children to the best of your ability?

What about your talents? Are you developing them? The world needs

you offering your best gifts! Are you sharpening your skills? Have you

placed your seemingly small offering in the hand of the Miracle Maker?

He will make much of it, multiplying what you never could!

What is your life’s work, the thing that He has appointed you to do? Are

you embracing that and working heartily at it? How well do you do your

job? Are you reliable, faithful, innovative?

“Self-control” is among the beautiful fruits of His life within us (Galatians

5:23). It involves “self-restraint” (Amplified Bible) and “strength of spirit”

(The Passion Bible), and is really all about self -leadership.

If you are walking with the Spirit and His resurrection life resides in you, you have

divine ability to lead yourself well. Your weaknesses humbly submitted to

Him can become strengthened and transformed by Grace. Your life will

be a fruitful, useful and an inspiring life and others will be drawn to you. You

will help others to grow.

The process starts with you!

May you become one who, in the words of Eugene Peterson, is “able to marshal and

direct your energies wisely” (Galatians 5 The Message).

A wise life is a

beautiful life that others will gladly follow!

Read Ang Morgan bio here