(no subject)
Jen Kamish
This I Believe
"The point is not to become a leader. The point is to become yourself, and to use yourself completely - all your gifts, skills and energies - to make your vision manifest. You must withhold nothing. You must, in sum, become the person you started out to be, and to enjoy the process of becoming."
Moments of vulnerability, as necessary as they are disheartening, define the fragility of life and if existence were not so incredibly delicate, it would be devoid of any meaning. Anyone will captain a ship that sails strong, but it is only a true leader who will continue to steer the wheel when icebergs loom dauntingly ahead.
I used to live under the radar. My guiding principle was that if you never stuck your neck out, it wouldn’t get chopped off. I grew up on a strict diet of low self-esteem and high expectations. This meant that I hated who I was in high school, but I was cautiously optimistic and ultimately confident that upon graduation, my “real life” would begin.
But it didn’t work that way. When I set out for college, my insecurities accompanied me, leeched onto me, got worse. And my cautious optimism gradually de-evolved into anxiety and depression, de-habilitating me to the point I couldn’t eat or sleep.
Six years later, here I am. Sometimes I think it’s luck that gets us where we are. I don’t believe everything happens for a reason; I believe that things happen coincidentally or for no reason at all, but we create desirable outcomes to pacify our aching hearts. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
A leader is not someone who has overcome the toughest challenge. A leader is not someone who has defeated each enemy, solved every problem. Leadership is a process, not a state of mind. Much like happiness, an individual’s capacity for effective leadership is in a constant state of evolution. Leadership must be active, because situations are always in a state of flux.
As a future student affairs professional, I interact with students everyday. The way I see it, the leaders are not the people who pretend to have it all together. Instead, they are the individuals who recognize that even the most admired role models are inherently flawed. They are the ones who understand that not every problem has a solution - but try anyway. Even if there aren’t always answers, leaders are the ones who are brave enough, bold enough, and vulnerable enough to ask the questions. This I believe.
This I Believe
"The point is not to become a leader. The point is to become yourself, and to use yourself completely - all your gifts, skills and energies - to make your vision manifest. You must withhold nothing. You must, in sum, become the person you started out to be, and to enjoy the process of becoming."
Moments of vulnerability, as necessary as they are disheartening, define the fragility of life and if existence were not so incredibly delicate, it would be devoid of any meaning. Anyone will captain a ship that sails strong, but it is only a true leader who will continue to steer the wheel when icebergs loom dauntingly ahead.
I used to live under the radar. My guiding principle was that if you never stuck your neck out, it wouldn’t get chopped off. I grew up on a strict diet of low self-esteem and high expectations. This meant that I hated who I was in high school, but I was cautiously optimistic and ultimately confident that upon graduation, my “real life” would begin.
But it didn’t work that way. When I set out for college, my insecurities accompanied me, leeched onto me, got worse. And my cautious optimism gradually de-evolved into anxiety and depression, de-habilitating me to the point I couldn’t eat or sleep.
Six years later, here I am. Sometimes I think it’s luck that gets us where we are. I don’t believe everything happens for a reason; I believe that things happen coincidentally or for no reason at all, but we create desirable outcomes to pacify our aching hearts. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
A leader is not someone who has overcome the toughest challenge. A leader is not someone who has defeated each enemy, solved every problem. Leadership is a process, not a state of mind. Much like happiness, an individual’s capacity for effective leadership is in a constant state of evolution. Leadership must be active, because situations are always in a state of flux.
As a future student affairs professional, I interact with students everyday. The way I see it, the leaders are not the people who pretend to have it all together. Instead, they are the individuals who recognize that even the most admired role models are inherently flawed. They are the ones who understand that not every problem has a solution - but try anyway. Even if there aren’t always answers, leaders are the ones who are brave enough, bold enough, and vulnerable enough to ask the questions. This I believe.