Professional development at its core is a process of personal growth. All self-improvement begins with self-reflection. The biggest catalyst of growth for any leader is almost always the realization of a truth. For many of us, a huge gap remains between our self-image — what we tell ourselves and portray to others — and our inner truth.
Ego and hubris are telltale signs of someone who has not taken the time to reflect and search for their inner truth. This person searches for personal significance from external sources — prestige and power over others. Someone with this inflated sense of personal significance is disconnected from reality and exhibits three qualities: they are entitled, invulnerable and invincible.
We cannot always be invincible. Those who cannot embrace this human truth will never find self-love. And the reconciliation between inner truth and self-image requires loving yourself. Real confidence is self-love rooted in humility and a growth mindset.
Love is humanity’s greatest gift, and we are all still learning how to love. Once we have trust in ourselves that we are enough, this inner abundance creates external abundance. When one is able to reconcile the gap between self-image and personal truth, a person’s full potential as a leader is unlocked. From truth comes wisdom. From wisdom comes limitless possibility.
Greatness in any field begins with a powerful inner state. This quality has been called “being in the zone,” finding your “flow” or “mojo.” What this really means is that you have achieved internal reconciliation between who you truly are and the person you portray who is worthy of respect, admiration and love. When you are convinced of yourself and no longer preoccupied with seeking external validation, you have mastered your mojo.
Einstein once said, “The ideals that have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Kindness, Beauty and Truth. Without the sense of kinship with men of like mind, without the occupation with the objective world, the eternally unattainable in the field of art and scientific endeavors, life would have seemed empty to me. The trite objects of human efforts — possessions, outward success, luxury — have always seemed to me contemptible.”
Reconcile the gap between inner truth and self-image. This is the way to master your mojo and make the greatest contribution to your grand purpose.
Image credit: CC by Gloria Bell