Day 390 - Leadership 199 / Trait 3 of 14: Courage

Leadership traits were on my mind last night while attending Honors Night at my daughters High School. As many of these young women & men were being recognized for their efforts they had the opportunity to step up and exercise their bearing in addressing the crowded auditorium. I was very impressed with how they conducted themselves with confidence and courage in a situation, public speaking, which is a challenging opportunity for most.

If you missed our previous posts in this series on leadership traits be sure to catch up on them here...
Leadership 199 / Trait 2 of 14: Bearing
Leadership 199 / Trait 1 of 14: Dependability


Let us see what our third trait has for us…

Leadership 199 / Trait 3 of 14: Courage

Defined: The mental quality that recognizes fear of danger or criticism, but enables you to proceed in the face of it with calmness and firmness.

Discovered: To understand courage you first must understand fear. When we recognize danger, fear is our innate survival mechanism that kicks in and prompts us to flee from or confront the present danger. The use of the word danger is a bit misleading because fear does not come over us only when we are in situations that are truly dangerous to our well being. Fear is also present when we face challenges which we believe we are at risk of failing at.

For the purposes of honing our self-leadership ability into higher degrees of effectiveness let us focus on those challenges we face for bettering ourselves. Weight loss,... training for your first marathon,... the treatments and recovery that lay ahead to care for injury or disease,... going back to school to get that college degree,... employment search,... starting your own business,... and so on. These are just a few obvious challenges many of us are facing now.

What other challenges are you facing today which will require you to address your fear of failure to overcome?

Books large and small have been written on how to overcome fear. I promise that this post will not run on into book length. Therefore I must cut to the chase on what gets us over what we fear. Courage!

Courage, like fear, is innate; we have it with in us. The funny thing is fear just pops out quickly in the face of challenge. While for many the courage within us has to be poked, prodded and sometimes pulled out.

However it is that you reach inside and get courage to come forward, do it. Courage enables your inner strength, your ability to stand up for what it is you deem right and necessary. Courage applied to challenge brings discipline to the task, provides you the required calmness to control fear versus fear controlling you.

Our challenges do not come with certainty of success. To succeed we must function effectively in our mission no matter how long, how difficult it may be. Along the way set backs may occur, the difficulty of the mission may rise. Fear will attempt to take back control with such occurrences. Perseverance comes from courage, our ability to persevere will ensure we endure through to the missions successful completion.


Da-Point: Respect Fear, Embrace Courage, Achieve Victory!

Is it hard for you to bring the courage within you to bear on your challenges?

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 389 - Leadership 199 / Trait 2 of 14: Bearing

Did you get a charge out of Trait 1: Dependability? I know I got fired up writing it and reading your comments. Fired Up I Tell Ya!! No way I was going to have a bad Tuesday after the high I was on from writing that post. And a great Tuesday I had. Looking forward to Wednesday being just a great if not more so.  

Deep breath, clear mind, let's power ahead into our second trait…

Leadership 199 / Trait 2 of 14: Bearing

Defined: Creating a favorable impression in carriage, appearance and personal conduct at all times.

Discovered: Conduct, personal-conduct, is a noun in that sentence. Mrs. English, yes I really had an English teacher named Mrs. English, well she would not approve of this but I choose to see 'conduct' as a verb here. And if noun-abuse is not to be tolerated, then I offer another sentence...

Bearing is the manner in which you conduct yourself.

Just how do you behave in your mission to get healthy? Do you go through the motions of whatever program you are following while longingly looking forward to being done with what you are doing?

Be honest! If you answered 'Yes' to that follow-up question and that is how you conduct yourself some of most of the time, well then allow me this moment of boldness to say that your bearing is OFF.

You cannot lead effectively just going through the motions! 

Leadership with bearing is to...

• Arrive Alert in the face of your challenges & with Desire for the results you deserve.
• Stand Competent & Confident, that you have what it takes to succeed. 
• Conduct yourself so that you Control the motion that is your life.

Da-Point: Conduct yourself against the highest of standards. Never accept that behaving in a manner less than the maximum of your ability is acceptable.

  

Is your bearing up to the challenges you face?

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 376 - You Have Me Wondering



source

 From yesterdays post this is what I learned from your answers, and what I am left wondering...

1- When was the last time you exercised and were you satisfied with your effort?
About 50/50 here, actually just a slight edge in favor of those who are satisfied with their exercise. For me, lack of recent exercise had me answer dissatisfied. No doubt there is plenty of room for improvement here for many of us. Which has me wondering...

What would make your exercise more satisfying?

Myself, when my exercise is filled with variety I am my most satisfied with it. I am too easily bored. One day I have to be outside for cardio, then the next session can be indoors. Or one day a walk/jog is good, but the next session shouldn't be the same walk/jog. Same for strength training, I don't want to feel the burn in the same place from one time to the next. If I do, I am likely doing the same exercises and ho-hum will soon set in.

2- Do you find Angel Food cake easy or hard to pass up?
Unreal, just not even close to real. I LOVE angel food cake. And none of you gave it any love at all. Hello... it is ANGEL food cake! I find it very hard to pass up. Maybe I just a sucker for angel's? Or sponges?? Maybe angels who give sponge baths??? Hmmm, I wonder...

What are you a sucker for?

Not an easy question really. I am a sucker for confidence. Engage me with confidence and decisiveness, you will have my attention and maybe more. To serious of an answer for you? You don't have to answer as seriously :-).

3- Salad dressings, do you do the right thing by eating salads but misuse salad dressing?
Another 50/50 result with this one showing a slight edge in favor of those who misuse dressing. At times I do misuse dressing, at others I do not. Probably depends upon the quality of the salad stuff I am dressing up. This dangerous inconsistency with salad dressing needs to be addressed! I can only sit here, look to the sky (or ceiling blocking the view of the sky) and wonder...

Seriously, how flippin hard can it be to exhibit salad-discipline?

4- Twinkie The Kid versus King Ding Dong, in a cage match to the death, which one wins?
Twinkie The Kid had the early lead but King Ding Dong love votes came in late and we have a tie. Not sure how we can break this tie, keep voting I guess. My fellow Chicagoland'ers feel free to vote multiple times as you always do in elections. While we wait for this to be resolved, excuse me for this bit of wondering...

Has anyone else ever eaten their twinkie, or ding dong, with a fork?

Yes, I said "else", thus I admit; I have! (a twinkie)

5- Tanning booths, is increasing the chances of skin disease/cancer tomorrow worth the risk to get a great tan today?
While some kind words for tanning in general, I didn't sense any true love for tanning booths. Myself, I can't help but laugh. I am a Caucasian of Irish, Scottish, and Snowman heritage. I've never tanned a day in my life; not on purpose. Obviously, after my recent dances with melanoma I am not likely to pick up the tanning hobby anytime soon, or, ever. On this question I have no further wondering.

6- Are you going to achieve your dreams of living healthy, living long, living happy?
Lots of believers here that they are achieving their dreams. Very good to hear. For this question I have many follow up wonderings...

If you aren't working towards our dreams, then we are just existing for the sake of existing; right? 

Of all of your dreams, which is the one you going to realize next?
And what will/are you doing to make that dream reality? 

Of all of your dreams, which is the one you want more than any other?

And how confident are you that you will realize that dream someday? 

I'll get back to you on my own dream wonderings.

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 269 - Do Tell; How Do You Feel About...

Day TEN of the New Year. Yes, the year is already approximately 1/36th over. Boy, that went fast.

So tell me, tell all of us, or if you insist just tell yourself... but do tell; How do you feel about yourself so far in 2011?

If you are a Resolution setter, how have you done sticking to them through 10 days?

Not a Resolutionist, Ok; how are you doing period in your quest to get/stay healthy?

Oh, and I must apologize to you. As I said this is day TEN. I should have asked you these questions on day TWO. Yes, I am assuming we all succeeded in accomplishing our intent on day ONE.

Simply my point is this; each and every day we wake up we need to ask ourselves that question; how are we doing period in our quest to get/stay healthy?

I get the sense some of us only ask ourselves this, and truly give it due thought, once a week or so. This is not a question to ponder only when we weigh-in once a week. This is not a question to ponder only when we flip the calendar page to a new month.

Daily, daily daily; talk to yourself. Challenge your self to be honest about what you are doing to achieve that which you want. If it is not working out as desired, then keep talking to yourself. Don't worry who is looking on wondering why you are taking to yourself, ignore the peanut gallery & just keep talking. Ask yourself, what has to change to get the momentum and progress you need? Do not accept excuses, don't blow smoke up your own backside.

Just keep talking and then get busy doing what you & yourself have agreed to.

Have a nice chat and a great day!

Oh, the picture above, just a random pic of me using the treadmill over the holidays; OORAH!

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 144 - Yes "I" exercise

Tuesday, No exercise . Soccer practice before work & a game after work. Exercise is on the agenda for today. Yesterday's eating was very good. Nothing note worthy eaten, just good decisions dawn to dusk.

Yesterday also saw me in an, oh what is the right word, oddly-cornered; in an oddly-cornered spot.

In my cubical chatting with my neighbor about kids sports after work. He mentions his daughter has practice at Stanton school. Hmm, 'Stanton school', why does that ring a bell?

Ah, I have a duh-moment, "That is where I get in exercise," I state. "I hike up & down the hill behind the school for cardio."

"YOU, you exercise there?" He replies instantly with a suppressed chuckle & emphasis on the word 'you'.

For a split of a split second I ready myself for battle, that is all the time I need to recall he is new, only been here a month and a half'ish. So he didn't know me just 4+ months ago when I was 51 pounds heftier. Plus he & I have hit it off great since he started, joke a great deal, so I gather he may be coming at me in jest rather than with critical judgement.

A second is all that passes before I reply, "Yeah, I don't look like I'd do something like that I guess, but I do."

His facial expression changes, "I, I wasn't suggesting that..."

I am too kind sometimes and I wasn't going to let this go wrong, no reason to. He is a Blackhawks fan after all. So I interrupt his stammering and change the subject back to the kids.

Why was this an 'oddly-cornered' experience? Because I've never talked about exercising as an obese person, if for no other reason than I rarely did exercise. Thus I've never had to defend myself for being one who does exercise.

The cool part of this oddity was that I didn't hesitate at all in blurting out I exercise. I my previous attempts at weight loss I tried to get exercise in but it seldom felt good & never was something I had confidence in discussing.

But yesterday, I just said it, "...I get in exercise!" I said it as if it was a normal part of who I am. Clearly because it has become part who I am.

Confidence to discuss exercise with those I previously wouldn't... I think that is an NSV.

Do you have any similar experiences where either you were questioned regarding your healthy habits, or, where you surprised yourself with a new found confidence?

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 141 - 43% Progress & Five-Oh'Yeah

A good morning to you all...

This morning was weigh-in day, and a it was great validation of all the hard work, mental & physical, I've put in over the past 4-1/2 months. The milestone hit today is just a number, but if you asked me 4-1/2 months ago if I'd have been able to hit it by the end of year, let alone in 141 days; I'd have said nope, not likely.

This morning I have lost 43% of the weight I have set out to lose.

That's 51.5 pounds lost over NINETEEN weeks; 2 of them this past week.

Today I weighed in at 268.5 pounds. Oh Yeah!

Yes, 50 is just a number. It represents what? Well, let's see...

• 50 less pounds to threaten my cardio-vascular health
• 50 more pounds of confidence to believe I can accomplish this mission
• 50 less pounds to inhibit my ability to do the exercise I need
• 50 more pounds of motivation to try things I thought myself incapable of 4-1/2 months prior
• 50 less pounds to have to explain when I get my annual physical
• 50 more pounds of energy to keep me off the couch and on task
• 50 less pounds to prevent me from getting on a roller coaster
• 50 more pounds of knowledge to put to use in getting healthier and healthier
• 50 less pounds to toss around as excuses for not living life as I wish I could
• 50 more pounds of blog followers who fuel me with the wisdom & respect of their own stories
• and I could go on...

So 50 is just number; and today it is my favorite number.

What is your favorite number today?

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!