Image: The Thinker, Rodin, 1880, Creative Commons
- It is not enough to be busy. So are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about? Henry David Thoreau
- Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves. Henry David Thoreau
- It is necessary ... for a man to go away by himself ... to sit on a rock ... and ask, “Who am I, where have I been, and where am I going”? Carl Sandburg
These quotes became particularly meaningful to me about 13 years ago. In spite of having a wonderful job, I felt lost and needed to take time to THINK about where I was, where I wanted to be, and what to do next. I have used these quotes frequently in talks, with an intent to stress how important it is to ask the questions posed by Thoreau and by Sandburg. They are critical before we move forward in any leadership journey. After one of my talks, Dr. Loretta Ford wrote me a kind note describing her "rock-sitting time" in the 1960s. So again, this is a critical piece of becoming a leader. Sitting on the rock. On that rock, recall where you have been (what you have learned, what has been meaningful, . .. ), who you are NOW (what is important to you, your passion) and where you WANT TO GO. Please take time to look look at the past, present, and to the future. To reflect on what contribution YOU can make, in keeping with who you are, your strengths, talents, knowledge, dreams, and ideals. Without making time for reflection and planning, we end up running around like the busy ants, we don't really understand ourselves.
The act of reflection is fitting with my recent posts regarding the potential you can unleash by identifying your "Sparketype". It is important to not only know where you want to go or what you want to accomplish, but to understand your special work imprint that will get you there.
Regardless where we think we want to go, we start at the present--right where we are today. That is all we have as our starting point. You're a professional with academic training, experiences, beliefs, achievements, relationships, and so much more. Think about how you are going to us all of this, pursue whatever your are missing, engage with others, and make a difference!
