I try to open every post in some unique way, today I have nothing.
Today I am thankful for leadership. I am thankful that I have had leaders in my life who have taught me lessons and helped me grow. I am thankful for having the opportunity to be a leader to other people. Finally, I am just thankful for the quality of leadership.
I’m now going to cover those in reverse order. First, the quality of leadership is something to be appreciated. I think before I explain why, I should explain what I believe a leader looks like. A leader is not someone who brags about being a leader or needs affirmation about being a leader. True leadership is doing something for others and then not telling anyone about it. It does not mean go on to facebook or twitter and talk about how great your leadership experience was; it means just appreciating that you were able to serve a few people. Just you knowing you did it should be enough, needing everyone else to know you did it is not true leadership. Leadership also does not just mean being in charge, it means using the authority you have been given to benefit others. People who consider themselves leaders but think they are better than other people and should be given special privileges are only concerned for self. True leadership is realizing you have been given some authority and then using that power to benefit others and lift other people up. True leadership is service. A leader should always be ready to step up and serve others, even if it means doing the hardest and most demeaning tasks that normally the person who picks the shortest straw has to do. Leaders should be willing to humble themselves and realize that they have not been put into that position to be a trophy but to be in the pit crew. I have been reading a book about leadership and have listened to a couple leadership sermons the past week, and the same theme that kept coming up was that leaders are servants, the lowest of the low, not kings, which are considered the highest. Leaders should be concerned more for the people they lead than themselves. Okay, rant over, but when you meet people with that leadership quality, it is so refreshing. If I meet someone who expresses true leadership, I immediately want to be their friend. More true leaders are needed around the world. When we start focusing on others instead of ourselves, the world will be a better place. Therefore, I think the quality of leadership, and when you see that quality in another person, should be something to be thankful for, especially because it is so hard to find.
Second, the opportunity to be a leader should be something to be thankful for. I am not saying that I am perfect and express all the qualities of true leadership, but over the years people have given me the opportunity to be a leader. It has ranged from leading a big group at camp to having one-on-one, mentor conversations with kids younger than me. These opportunities have been so great, and I know I said true leaders should not brag about their experiences, but I never said I possessed all the true leadership qualities. I always walk away from times where I get to be a leader filled with joy and appreciation that I have been put in that position. I think everyone should be thankful when they are allowed to be a leader, because that means that someone thinks highly enough of you, whether it is the person in charge or just the one kid who asked you to be their mentor, and you have shown enough qualities of leadership to be placed in a position of authority. It is a great honor and experience to be a leader, so I think those times should be celebrated.
Finally, the leaders in your life should be appreciated. Everyone has a leader in their life, whether it is a mentor, a teacher, a pastor, or just a parent. Whoever it is, that person, or people, should be appreciated. They have devoted part of their life to serving you and making you into the person you are today and the person you will be in a couple years. A leader challenges you and forces you to grow, and they should be thanked for that. I am so thankful for all the leaders that I have had in the past and all the ones I have now. They have helped me through some stuff, and I could not be more thankful.
Leadership in general is just a great thing. I think the term scares and intimidates some people and makes other people mad because they have been hurt by someone who considered themselves a “leader,” but when we look at the true idea behind it, it is something to be thankful for. There are people who show true leadership, and even though they are hard to find, they help redeem the whole concept. It is those type of people, and the instances where people are really touched by leaders, that we should look at to judge just how great or poor the idea of leadership is. Personally, I am always going to be thankful for leadership because of the impact it has on my life.
Thnx leadership 4 bein so important in my life.
Summer of Thankfulness
The Life of Hayden 