YOUR MIND MATTERS, AND IT CONTROLS HOW YOU MANAGE MATTER

Let’s look at how our thinking influences who we believe we are and what we believe we are able to do. We’re going to build on many of the concepts that we have looked at in previous blogs.

CREATION AND SELF-CONCEPT

The first thing to consider regarding the source of our thoughts is the relationship between creation and self-concept. Your attitudes are largely a result of your self-concept – the picture you have of yourself. What is your idea about who and what you are? Your answer to this question is crucial because self-perception influences whether or not you will realize your inherent leadership potential.

The Creator designed you in His image, and therefore He wants you to have a concept of yourself that is in line with who He is. That is the picture you are meant to have of yourself. Families pass down certain genes and traits from one generation to another. Similarly, our Father God passed along His nature to us, and that “family resemblance” is meant to be a reminder of where we come from, to whom we belong, and what we are intended to be.

CREATION AND SELF-WORTH

To a large degree, your thoughts and feelings about yourself are determined by your self-worth. Your self-worth is the value you place on yourself. How much value do you think you have? Again, to find the true answer, you have to go back to the beginning. The Creator made you in His image and likeness, and therefore your value is a reflection of His value. Moreover, leaders value others as they value themselves.

The majority of the people in the world do not have self-worth but “others-worth.” This is the acceptance of the worth others place on you. You will never become the leader you were created to be until you become free from other people’s valuation of you and perception of your worth.

CREATION AND SELF-ESTEEM

While self-worth asks, “How much value do I believe I have?” self-esteem asks, “What does this mean to my environment?” Self-esteem is your estimation of your value to the world. It is how you regard yourself in terms of your contribution and usefulness to others. Self-esteem is therefore your sense of significance to the world and the universe.

Many people suffer from very low self-esteem. I have found that women are more vulnerable to low self-esteem than men. This is because they are more emotional by design. They have a natural and valuable gift of empathy that can backfire if they don’t know who they were created to be. Many women allow men to control them because they are looking for their esteem from their relationships with males rather than from their relationship with their Creator. This is a serious problem for many women, and it hinders the expression of their leadership nature.

Again, self-esteem is your awareness of your value to your environment. After God gave human beings their self-concept and self-worth. His next instruction was for them to have dominion over the earth because he wanted them to understand how important they were to the entire environment. He esteemed them highly by making them co-rulers over creation.

CREATION AND SELF-AWARENESS

The greatest discovery in human experience is self-discovery. Your leadership attitude comes alive when you become aware of your true nature. The great Greek philosopher Socrates made “Know thyself” the guiding principle of his life, and this idea was perpetuated by his disciple, Plato. Yet “Know thyself” is an incomplete idea because all they knew was that there was something to learning about yourself. They didn’t fully understand or explain how to do this. The only way to know yourself is to know where you originated because you are just like the Source from which you came. This is why the best way to discover and understand yourself is to discover and study the nature and attributes of God. Knowing God leads to humanity’s greatest knowledge about itself.