Thursday; March 12

One of the noble things about leadership is a conviction to help others make the best decisions they can; however, the opposite is true:  one of the most stressful aspects of leadership is a desire to help people make the best decisions they can.  Leaders – and, in fact, all caring people – take our responsibility towards others very seriously.  We want to do everything we can to ensure that the people around us make appropriate choices.  In fact, most of us would even be happy to make decisions for others; however, there are two things wrong with that.  First, we can’t make decisions for others – they don’t give us the power to do that.  None of us have a moral or spiritual “power of attorney” to be the decision-maker for others.  Even if that was possible, it wouldn’t be practical.  People need to live their own lives – for good or for bad.

While this realization might cause us some distress, I also think that it can bring us a sense of peace.  If we can’t make choices for others, we don’t need to feel guilty when people make bad decisions.  Sure, we might feel a sense of sadness or even empathy when people mess up; but we must not take it personally.  They had the options and they did what they did.

Let’s not beat ourselves up emotionally when we witness those around us doing things we know they shouldn’t do.  Sure, we might be able to help them recover from the wreckage; but let’s remember that at the end of the day, it was their choice. 

          Think About It!

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