Listening to a John Maxwell webinar while I’m writing, and thinking about who I am, I can honestly say that I am not who I once was. Why? Because I am constantly changing and growing. I change because I’m constantly working on being the best “me” that I know how to be.
John’s title is simple. “Developing the Leader Within You” but it is laced with comedy and deep thinking thoughts that fit with my personality. I want to keep “growing” so that I am not who I was. “I want to be the best me that me knows how.” This describes me to a “T”.
How Do You Know Who You Are
I think this is an interesting thought. We all like to say we know who we are, but when we enter into an unknown situation and the real you unfold to fill the space, then maybe we don’t know ourselves. Every challenge unfolds you. Think about it! All those experiences expand you. Those defeats prove you tried, but they will either cause you to “turtle” or grow.
The key to knowing who you are
comes by determining what you are learning
from what life hands you,
or what you choose to face or run from.
Document who you realize you are, and then think about where you are wanting or needing to go, then start the process of migrating from who you are to who you want to be.
Transition is Possible
I was thinking about migrating from one place to another and realized I know much about how to do this. Mostly it comes from the practical place I’ve been in life – from unmarried to happily married, no kids to great kids and now grandkids, no driving to over 2 million miles on the road, no overseas experience to now hungry for more…
Catch my drift. We all know how to transition. Only, we think it’s too difficult when we want to see the change happen within ourselves. Suddenly, weight loss is too difficult, finishing our education impossible, adjusting our personality feels like a lost cause.
But we all know that transition is possible! Look at the smartphone you obsess over and think about what it was like just 2 decades ago. A bag phone, expensive plan, external antennae, and no internet service! Right then you should realize that transition is possible. You are the key! Grow to become!
Be Responsible For Your Change
Too many want to be what they are not and seldom take ownership of the change it will require for them to become. John Maxwell says it like this:
Summary: A man said to him, “I want to do what you do. I wish I had met you 20 years ago.” No, you don’t. I’m not what I was 20 years ago. You have to want to do what I did to get to what you want to do as I do.
It’s an old adage, “You always get what you always got if you always do what you always did.” To become you have to do the did so that you can be the do.
My background in IT is a constant example to me of change. I picked up new skills, used them, and then dropped them for the next set of skills I needed to stay current. Else, I would still be yearning for the good ol’ days where keypunch cards were the only way to store data!
Part of the change process is looking at who and where you are, identifying who you will need to be and where you think you need to go, and then make the change happen so you are ready when you arrive!
Here’s My Thought Today
A poet penned the words of a little poem that I recite to myself often. I’m confused about the author! For over 30 years I’ve referenced the wrong author, or so it would seem. I’m changing! Here’s the correct rendition.
And there were three men
went down the road
as down the road went he:
The man they saw,
The man he was,
The man he wanted to be.
~John Masefield
We are nothing if we are not changing who we were into the person we so much want to be. Some will never change due to their self-limiting viewpoints. Others will attempt to change but be disillusioned along the way. A few will actually become exactly what they thought they would be. Others will exceed their own expectations and others who knew them when they were young.
Here’s the kicker. Sometimes others see our potential but we never achieve their view of us. Possibly for the reasons listed above, or perhaps we just are not creative enough in our thinking to see the possibilities.
Some Things Should Never Change
None of this means we leave our principles behind, rather, we know who we are and what we believe, but we change that personal view of self to fulfill the role we were meant to play.
There is a movie talking about Peter Pan who has grown up and has a family. When his son is describing his dad to an aged Wendy, the conversation goes like this. [Click to watch the two minute clip====>>>>] So, Peter. You’ve become a pirate!
Peter has changed his principles! He’s now that which he had once fought! Possibly he does not see it in himself because of his reference and perspective, but there’s hope! He can wake up that dormant self! He can change back to what he is supposed to be! Unlearn all that he had become, and relearn what he is supposed to be!
So can you. It’s never too late to be who you are supposed to be, and who you want to become!