“You were born with wings, why prefer to crawl through life?”
~Rumi
Over the decades I have been coaching, I have noticed a pretty glaring fact about many, if not most, of my clients. Many, if not most, of the people I know, in fact.
There seems to be a reluctance – an inability actually – for my clients (and the people I know) to own their brilliance. To sense their power. To accurately assess their strengths and talents, the positive effects they have on others, and their impact on the world.
In other words, when they have wings and can fly, they seem to prefer to crawl.
Some of this reluctance is societal and systemic – my clients of color who have learned not to be assertive for fear that they’ll be seen as “arrogant.” Some of it is the fact that many of us were told not to be too “full of ourselves” and to speak humbly, if at all. To know that “pride goeth before the fall.” Some of it seems to be a hesitation to take up too much space.
Whatever the reason, this hesitation to own our power and our gifts, this unwillingness to fly and soar, hurts our ability to live and lead as our best selves. It keeps us limited, crawling on the ground, not taking full advantage of our gifts and talents and not contributing all the value we can bring to the people and organizations (and causes) around us.
It’s time to be our best selves and give our best gifts. It’s more necessary now than ever. It’s time to stretch and test our wings, to launch ourselves off of the ground and be all we can be and give all we can give.
How have you learned to fly rather than crawl?
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If you enjoyed this post, you can read more like it in our book, The Power of Thoughtful Leadership: 101 Minutes To Being the Leader You Want To Be, available on Amazon.
If you want to soar more, contact Robyn at rmcleod@chatsworthconsulting.com.
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