Why You Should SHUT UP About Leadership, If You Fail To Lead Yourself!

Have you ever gotten advice (often unsolicited) from someone who you knew with 100% certainty, they didn’t heed their own advice? I hear about it ALL the time. I have heard the complaints from colleagues and acquaintances of how a healthcare professional — particularly overweight or obese — proceeded to recommend that they lose weight to avoid health issues. They tell me how they thought to themselves (or maybe you even say it), “Excuse me, but shouldn’t you be practicing what you preach?” While this is sound advice and the healthcare professional was doing their job, their “body of work” spoke for itself. There are other elements that we consciously be considered.

A leader without followers is simply a man taking a walk.

John Boehner

Credibility

If you are not leading yourself, how do you expect others to follow you? People can see right through YOU. Your self-leadership is on display EVERY DAY, in your choices. You have been talking about getting more PHYSICALLY ACTIVE since the New Year. But when the rubber hits the road…Did you get up this morning for an activity? Or did you sleep longer? You have been talking about eating better throughout the day. But when it’s game time…Did you meal prep this weekend? Did you bring your own lunch? Or did you go for lunch EVERY DAY this week? We already know the answer, because we have seen your ACTIONS.

Family

If you cannot lead your family, how do you expect others to follow you? This is my personal view. Leadership starts at home. Your sphere of influence starts with you and emanates to your family. No one bears witness and have closer encounters with you than your immediate family. That being said, if they are not a fan of you, or truly believe you are leading them in the right direction, can you really expect anyone else to?

self-leadership

“A leader without followers is simply a man taking a walk.” Words uttered by former Speaker of the House and Ohio congressman John Boehner. While this may accurate to a degree, I would counter and say it first takes that said man taking a walk by himself. I don’t just mean in a PRIORITIZE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY sense; although that is fitting as well. I mean in the sense that leadership first starts with YOU making the decision to lead YOURSELF. YOU have to lead YOURSELF to set your short- and long-term goals. YOU must lead yourself to make a plan on how to achieve those goals. YOU must lead yourself in taking the steps in your plan and all the choices you make along the way to ultimately be successful. So yeah, you can be that “man taking a walk” and still be a leader, because it starts with YOU first. You must lead yourself first, then come the followers.

Challenge

So I challenge you, dad. Can YOU be a leader? Can you lead yourself to PRIORITIZE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY? Can you lead the way for your family? They are counting on you!

Let’s do it together!

Stay Healthy! Stay Motivated!

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