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.
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