Together We Think

Today I want to talk about something that is a huge challenge for me. It might just be one of my biggest challenges and potential frustrations in life. It is the value that I try and get from position and career opportunity.

I realize that this is really a mixed bag and two sides of the same coin, because part of this is really healthy. It is the way God has designed us to work hard, use our gifts and find satisfaction in our chosen field. Having said that, what I want to focus on today is the dark side of needing something from our work, title, position that it just cannot provide.

For those of you who know the Myers Briggs personality profile, I am wired as an INFP, or as some might call it, “The Dreamer”. The problem with being wired this way is that it is not what I necessarily would choose as my primary wiring if you were to ask me. What I would really love to be is a Natural Born Leader. Why? Because the culture I have grown up around tends to worship at the altar of natural born, bigger than life leaders. Sounds a little overstated, I know, but for many of us, that statement isn’t too strong because we have convinced ourselves that with greater positions of leadership, we are more valuable.

As I write, I am well aware that I do not represent all of you, some of you are natural born leaders and some are perfectly content with who you are, but for me, a lot of my value has been attached to whatever position I  might have or think I might want to have. The problem is that when I have it, it actually doesn’t deliver the value I am hoping it will and when I don’t get it, I can become easily frustrated and discouraged.

Let me try to explain… Because I am not a natural born leader, it takes a lot more work and effort for me to obtain and execute new levels of team leadership. For some of you reading this, leading others comes very easily, but for me, it does not. It is a lot of work to figure out how to lead a team toward a common goal and purpose. With my wiring, I am great at self-leadership, thought leadership and leading in the moment, but people leadership toward a long-term goal can be a real struggle for me.

Although this is a good realization to have, it can be pretty tough in organizational leadership life, because what gets noticed many times are those who lead teams and big initiatives to successful outcomes over time. When this type of leadership isn’t your strong suite and you feel like this is what you will gain your ultimate value from, then it can leave you feeling less than and discouraged. It can also lead to frustration because new doors of leadership opportunity may not open as fast or at all and when you attach your value to these doors, it is a rough place to live for sure!

So, what do I do about this? I must learn to find my value in who my Heavenly Father has made me to be. I must learn to say “Thank you Lord!” in every circumstance. Now, I find in my life, that it is easy to say “Thank You Lord!” for the good things. Thanks for my family, my ministry, my stuff, etc… But, it is much harder to say “Thank you Lord!” for our weaknesses or deficiency’s. Thanks that I’m not a natural born leader, thanks for this job transition, thanks for this constant struggle that forces me to depend on You, etc… And yet, scripture says we should do just that. Paul said that he had learned to be content in any circumstance. (Phil. 4:12) Man Paul, you are a better man than me:-)

So, what is my point? What can we learn from this?

We must learn that God has made us exactly who he wants us to be. Not what others say we should be or what leaders and leadership experts say is the thing we need to be great! Or what a culture says is or is not valuable. We are already priceless in God’s eyes! We are so much more valuable to Him than we can ever know! We don’t have to find our true value from any position or title. We find it in Him!

So, today, regardless of what position or title your aspire to, take the time to remind yourself that you are exactly who your Heavenly Father has created you to be and no title/position or lack there of can ever change your value in His eyes! When you view life in this way, then it much easier to look at whatever door or position God has opened for us and just say thank you to the one who is Able to bring true value from our lives!

I hope this helps and Godspeed…

S.