Do You- The Power of Living Authentically

One of the great gifts an athlete can possess is the ability to know their identity.  It doesn’t matter the sport, knowing and playing to your strengths is critical. In baseball, it’s the guy who doesn’t have great power but he has a knack for getting on base.  He doesn’t try to “go yard” or “hit nukes;” instead, he scraps and figures out a way to help the team.  In basketball, this person is willing to make the extra pass, defend and rebound.  The player’s awareness leads to more at-bats, minutes or repetitions than their “more talented” teammates.  Coaches throughout the country love this type of player.  Why? Because this player embraces who they are, they don’t try to be something they are not, and they end up being incredibly consistent because of it.

The Journey to Authentic Leadership:
The most important thing a leader can do is identify his or her true self. Deep down inside, we know exactly who we are.  Unfortunately, over the years many of us lose our way.  We end up being the type of person/leader we think we are supposed to be, not the person we truly are.   This leads to an identity crisis.  We lose sight of our authentic self.

It’s taken many years, but I am now able to lead authentically.  In order to lead from our heart, we must first take a deep dive into ourselves.  It starts with developing a personal philosophy.  A mistake I see many leaders make is trying to develop a culture without fully understanding their own beliefs.

Michael Gervais, the sports psychologist and high performance coach, says there are three ways to develop your personal philosophy.  These three ideas have greatly shaped and enhanced my life:

1. Write: There is something powerful about putting pen to paper.   Writing forces you to think deeper; to clarify your thoughts.
2. Mindfulness Practice: Mindfulness is being present; it’s being where your feet are.  This is my biggest challenge.  My mind races a mile a minute, I can’t sit still, I’m always pushing.  There are numerous ways to practice mindfulness.  I practice mainly by morning walks and with the Head Space app.
3. Get around wise people: Once you begin down the path of self-mastery an amazing thing begins to occur; you attract wise people into your life.  These relationships have a profound impact.  You start seeing and understanding things in a different light.  For me, this human connection is powerful.

The bad news is that this process is not a quick fix. Living authentically is a life-long endeavor.  It takes time and effort.  The good news is that it has the ability to transform your life.

Once you identify your personal philosophy you’ll clearly notice your strengths and your weaknesses.  Recently, I was with a wise friend.  After a long discussion, he proclaimed, “Mike, you are allergic to money.  Any time charging someone comes up you shut down.”  Holy smokes! He nailed it.  He found a huge hole in my swing.

Here’s another benefit of knowing yourself- you’ll understand your weaknesses, and the best part is, you’ll learn to embrace them.  I have several areas where I am deficient (money is one).  It’s o.k.  Life is about forming teams and tribes.  My goal is to seek out teammates who can make up for my deficit areas.

On the other hand, it’s also important to play to your strengths. Lean into the things you do well! Instead of stifling energy focusing on the weaknesses, I propose working in your sweet spot. Unless we go through the arduous process of self-discovery we won’t know where to focus our time and energy.

Final Thoughts:
The player that I described in the opening paragraph is special.  Anyone who has coached knows exactly what I am talking about. By simply understanding themselves they are able to play free.

The same is true for you and I.  Once we lead from an authentic place our impact on others increases.  We accept our flaws and lean into our strengths.  Self-consciousness and the feelings of inferiority cease to exist. Much like trying to describe the player, it’s hard to articulate and quantify.  You free yourself up to make mistakes and take chances.  You learn that failure is part of the process.  You learn to let it rip!

This Week’s Challenge:
This stuff is heavy.  It’s definitely not for everyone.  It can be scary and lonely at times.  It’s easy to dismiss a personal philosophy as being esoteric or hokey.  It’s also easy to claim busyness as an excuse for lacking the discipline to execute.  Remember, Busy is a decision. I believe that if you want to be your best and live a fulfilling life, a personal philosophy is a must.  This week, pick up a pen and start writing, begin a mindfulness practice, and seek out wise people.  You owe it to yourself.  Please join me on the journey!

Make it a great week,

Mike

P.S. Another major hole in my swing is PowerPoint and Excel.  If you would like to join “my team” and offer your services, please let me know.