Tapestry of Life
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This week and next the fever pitch of the holidays crescendo to their apex. Despite the hectic nature of the coming days, most of us take at least a little time off.
Sometime before we “ring in” the New Year, reflect on the following questions about 2022.
What is the greatest gift or blessing you received?
What is the greatest loss or pain that you experienced?
What is the most important lesson that you learned?
What is a personal obstacle or fear that you overcame?
What is a mistake that you made that you don’t plan on repeating?
Whose life did you impact the most and how?
Who impacted your life the most and how?
The answers to these questions deal not only with what happened to you in the past year, but – more importantly – what happened inside you as a result.
How you internalized the responses to these questions represent single threads – or data points – of your ongoing life story. They become a part of the tapestry of your life’s landscape.
A single thread, by itself, is easily broken. A single thread, by itself, does not reveal the entire picture.
It’s only when the threads are woven into their proper place that the pattern – or design – appears. It’s only when the threads are woven into their proper place that the strength of the whole is maximized.
Some of you had an amazing year. Some of you had a painful year. Whatever you experienced, it is important to weave those threads into their proper place. To view them in their proper perspective.
Letting a single thread define you – whether good or bad – distracts you from your true purpose as a leader and weakens your overall impact.
As leaders, we’re byproducts of many things – our families, gifts and abilities, education and experience, those who journey through life with us, our season of life, and how our hearts drive us. And more.
Allowing each thread to assume its proper place in your life story deepens your leadership roots, enhancing your authenticity and increasing the breadth and depth of your influence.
To use a familiar phrase – the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts.
How do these 2022 threads weave into your life story to make you a stronger leader?
How can you increase your impact or focus for 2023 as a result?
Also, remember that families, teams and entire organizations have stories of their own. Try using these questions as a discussion starter to determine how those stories will have impact into 2023 as well.
