Guess what Leaders (and everyone for that matter) – all eyes are on you. Everyone is watching your words, actions and choices. Is this challenging time to be about you or others? Are we all really in this together? Please read this post to the end as I wanted to share some quotes that will change your views on selfishness.
As human beings we can be selfish especially when we are coming from a place of fear. We can get caught up in our selfish bubble. We can become tunnel visioned around what is only happening in our own world.
Neurobiology comes into play here. It’s a survival mechanism especially in times of crisis and threat. In turn when we feel threat or fear, we are not thinking clearly and sometimes we can also show our true behaviour and colours. During this crisis, we have seen the best and worst of others and the ones who will come out on top are those who are courageous, kind and practice authentic leadership, which is about how you can help and serve others (servant leadership).
Remember the bushfires – look at the courage and kindness we saw then and look what is happening now. The exact opposite! Why?
This is making me and us incredibly sad and disappointed.
In turn, I am coaching, connecting and speaking to a number of leaders who are finding it really challenging dealing with people and teams who are being downright selfish and only thinking of themselves. I know change scares us and most of us don’t know how to deal with change, especially during a crisis.
I am incredibly passionate about Neuroscience and Leadership and when it comes to change or crisis the brain starts to focus on “What does that mean for me?”
I wrote a great article on this in the HRD Magazine which you can access and read it here. This is a time which we to navigate and lead these uncharted waters and change. It will either bring our the best or worst in you.
I get it too. It is such a challenging time for us all. We have lost work and revenue too. There are also people a lot worse off than us – losing lives, losing loved ones, losing businesses, homes, jobs and so much more.
We know there is so much uncertainty and change and I am not saying I have been perfect during this time however I focus on my values, purpose and vision at all times.
I know the only way to get through this change and crisis is to give and serve others, and to be kind and be courageous. It is about compassion and empathy. This is not a time to be SELFISH! Look at the executives and companies who are giving up salaries and bonuses to keep their people versus the companies who are not?
Let me share this reflection with you – once this is all over and we get through this – how do you want to be remembered and what legacy and impact you want to leave. If you want to stop being selfish – practice gratitude, reach out to others and see how you can help, enjoy your time at home with loved ones, stop focusing on the negative and think about the positives, start learning and coaching others, hug your family, show you care, check in with others, show kindness – I could list 100’s of things you can do to show leadership.
You will be remembered by your actions and choices everyday.
Please think about your legacy because you are writing it every day. —Gary Vaynerchuk
I will never stop giving and showing kindness and this is why we are offering a number of free and at cost leadership programs and coaching. Why not? Our whole purpose and vision is about building a world of kind and courageous leaders.
We are all in this together and moment is you forget this, is the moment you have lost what leadership is about.
Stop being a selfish jerk. We don’t want to see or hear anymore stories of selfishness. Do you?
I hope you understood this message which I am sharing with you with kindness and courage.
Stay Kind. Stay Courageous. And read the quotes below too. x
Below are some of my favourite quotes to help you around how to stop being selfish.
What are your thoughts?
“Foolish, selfish people are always thinking of themselves and the result is always negative. Wise persons think of others, helping them as much as they can, and the result is happiness. Love and compassion are beneficial both for you and others. Through your kindness to others, your mind and heart will open to peace.” ― Dalai Lama
“At times we feel outnumbered in our attempts to improve the world—to brighten and beautify, to preserve and heal and do what’s best for humanity. Selfless efforts can start to feel beleaguering, discouraging, even pointless with so little support. It is at these times I remind myself that I would rather be the last Good Samaritan standing than to join the ranks of selfish multitudes creating misery.” ― Richelle E. Goodrich
“If all the people in this world, in which we live, were as selfish as a few of the people in this world, in which we live, there would be no world in which to live.” ― W. L. Orme
“The tide seldom shifts in favor of a selfish individual.” ― Carlos Wallace
“Selfish — a judgment readily passed by those who have never tested their own power of sacrifice.” ― George Eliot
“A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle.” ― Anonymous
“Glory, built on selfish principles, is shame and guilt.” ― William Cowper
“Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.” ― Martin Luther King, Jr.
“There are many things that we would throw away if we were not afraid that others might pick them up.” ― Oscar Wilde
“No man is more cheated than the selfish man.” ― Henry Ward Beecher
