Mikolaj's Monday Maunder - Your choice

Inspiration and lessons for your leadership journey!

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“We have to choose love.  We have to choose to be patient, kind, humble and giving.”
~ Victoria Osteen ~

I told the following true story in A Travel Guide to Leadership:

“For example, my wife is Filipina.  Although she speaks fluent English, her original, native language is Tagalog. Generally, this isn’t a problem for us. But sometimes, there can be a bit of a communication gap.

I remember one day we were working on our budget and a program got ‘stuck’ on the computer and it wouldn’t close. I was trying everything – two or three times. As I tried each maneuver, I would tell her what I was trying. We were both getting frustrated.

To my surprise, she kept asking me over and over to try something I had already tried several times – and I told her I had already told her I had told her! In retrospect, it seems almost comical. But at the time, both of us were frustrated. I reacted from my gut, lost my temper, and huffed out of the room to cool down. I didn’t catch the gap.

Becoming aware of the gap is a fundamental step in loving.”

Between any stimulus and your response there is a gap – sometimes a small gap – but a gap, nonetheless. When you can catch yourself for just a brief moment in that gap, you can do what Victoria Osteen (wife of Joel Osteen) tells us in our opening quote – choose love.

I’m not saying it’s easy but the more you practice getting in the gap and choosing love, the easier it becomes. Sure, you’ll slip-up sometimes, just as I did above.

Ten things you can try to help you increase your awareness of the gap and choose love:
Empathic listening

• Yoga
• Prayer
• Meditation
• Contemplation
• Fasting
• Psychotherapy
• Journal about key experiences
• Ceremonial practices
• Inspirational, spiritual, self-improvement, and self-awareness writings, books, blogs, videos, etc.

Take time to get in the gap and choose love today – it’s your choice.

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This Week's Affirmations
(Repeat these quietly to yourself multiple times throughout the day.)

I am loving and self-aware.

I am growing and learning.

I am aware of the gap between stimulus and response.

I am a loving leader!

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If you like this week's blog, I encourage you to share it with your family, friends, and colleagues and join me on my journey to empower and inspire millions of people around the globe.

Together we can spread words of Encouragement, Inspiration, Empowerment, and Loving Leadership... and wouldn't you agree our world could use a little more "Positivity" these days?

Together we can make a difference...

Have an amazing journey today!

Alan

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BONUS VIDEO
Watch:  I Choose Love
By Shawn Galloway

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