Choosing Yourself First is the Key to Sustainable Leadership
Why do you do what you do? Why did you choose this industry and career path?
Do you want to lead and have an impact in the world, in your city and community? Or maybe there's a cause or mission that’s really important to you. Regardless of what motivates you, there’s one key thing you need to know:
Choosing yourself is your first priority and order of business.
That means making sure your needs are met, that you are nourished, respected and well. You can’t put the needs of any cause, mission, organization or job ahead of your own needs and expect to sustain it.
That never works.
The culture around work is shifting because folks are tired of the way things have been, and instead of working to ensure leaders who want to make impact are happy and treated well, many organizations and companies double down on policies and overall work environment conditions that don’t support a lifestyle for creative, mission-driven leaders that’s sustainable long-term.
I left my last job to take care of my health after an injury that wasn’t healing properly, to process grief after losing my mother to breast cancer and to rest. That’s what I did to choose myself. It felt like a crazy thing to do at first, but when you’re not used to choosing yourself in this way, the things you do can feel crazy, but they’re not. It’s what ultimately sets you up for sustainable leadership.
How do you start choosing yourself first, so that you can lead and have impact in a way that’s sustainable?
Focus on joyful service. Joyfully serving yourself, and what you need creates a sustainable foundation for serving others and a higher mission.
Choosing yourself is the only way you can engage in joyful service and do work that’s important to you, where you can also have an impact as a leader, without burning out. You do this by consciously choosing and designing a life that fuels you, is deeply satisfying and creates impact in a mission beyond one's self. But you have to serve yourself and meet your own needs in order to serve your higher calling that benefits humanity.
Remember, joyful service, starting with yourself is how you have impact as a leader, without constantly burning out. How can you serve yourself with joy?