Think About It

One of my toughest challenges is taking other people’s actions personally. No, I am not really talking about how they treat me; rather I am often troubled when others make poor decisions. Not only do I feel bad for them, I also wonder what I could have done to alter their course. Consciously, I realize they made their own decision, but emotionally I wonder if I did something to cause their choice … or didn’t do enough to help them make a better decision. I believe that most leaders who really care about people wrestle with this. In fact, it can become such a heavy burden that some people will walk away from leadership roles just so they won’t feel responsible anymore. (Unfortunately, when we do this, most of us don’t lose the emotional burden that ties us to others, we merely lose the opportunity to help them.) So, what can we do to overcome the burden of caring too much? First, we need to do the best we can do to be positive influences. By living good lives and giving soli