Choose Your Own Adventure!
Each week we'll be featuring content from our expired Bosscraft newsletter, designed to inspire, encourage, and share what we've learned about mindset and productivity. Sign up here to receive each post in your inbox.
Hope you enjoy!
Whitney
Can we talk for a minute about the bizarro circular logic of self-improvement? I mean, at the end of the day, what is the goal of self-improvement? Is it happiness? Or improving your relationships? Or productivity? Let's think about it.
The whole goal of self-improvement is to get to some unattainable point where you no longer feel the need to improve yourself.
If that's not some nonsense designed to keep us continually feeling like we are not good enough and not worthy, I don't know what is...
What would it feel like to say to yourself "actually, I'm good enough as-is. I am fully-fulfilled. I'm satisfied."
I mean, yes, Lin Manuel , but also, maybe could we just be satisfied with who we are?
Part of the challenge that I experience with self-improvement in general is that the end aims are often set by someone beyond ourselves.
Whether it's someone else telling us that waking up early is the solution to every problem we have, or the ambition for a four-hour workweek , often the motivation for self-improvement isn't actually oriented to help us improve in the ways that are meaningful to us.
What would happen if you improved only when you wanted to?
WHO LEADS?
The beauty of the diversity of life is that we've all got different things that are important and meaningful for us! If we were all trying to do the exact same thing all the time, there would be no creativity or invention.
Fortunately, we have choices - a lot of them!
And today, that's the fun of choice that I want to present with you.
What kind of leader do you want to be?
Someone inspirational? Someone with drive? Someone with a calm wisdom? Someone compassionate?
Who you admire can show you who you would like to emulate and the self-improvement areas that are most meaningful to you.
Now, you might have people that immediately spring to mind - for me that's my grandfather, RBG, my business bestie - but it also might be easier to name the people who have served as poor examples.
Either, way, navigating our Leadership Growth Worksheet can help you think outside of what springs to mind to build a fully developed picture about what your personal brand of leadership could look like.
After you're done, I'd love to talk you through what you found - you can use this link to set up a time to chat one-on-one or share your results in the Clubhouse to gather opinions from your peers.
RESOURCES
Speak up through the Women Innovators & Leaders Network call for presenters at their next conference . (network)
Take care of yourself and your mind, the rest will follow . (video)
Need data to make the case for professional development funding? Cite this AAUW findings . (article)
This morning routine isn’t “guru” approved but we’re into it. HINT: Real happiness and productivity come from making deep changes . (article)
Forget FOMO! We’re all about the JOMO (joy of missing out). (podcast)