Being a Leader in Your Life
There are many valuable resources, concepts and theories out there that illuminate what it means to live life from a conscious perspective. The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership, written by my mentors, Jim Dethmer and Diana Chapman and their colleague Kaley Warner Klemperer, is hands down the most comprehensive, practical and effective application of the concept of being a conscious creator.
There is no stone unturned, no aspect of your being or your behavior that is not addressed in this system of life engagement. It is the quintessential guidebook to living consciously in all realms of experience. The title may imply its focus is mainly on consciousness, as it relates to your professional life, but I choose to interpret the term ‘leadership’ as more widely applicable.
I see myself as a leader in my own life, in my family, in my marriage, in my community AND in my professional life. I say this from the perspective of viewing myself as the one responsible for creating all of my experiences, in all aspects of my life, and that, by doing so, I impact those around me. We are all leaders in this way.
The concept, showing up as leaders in our lives, is highlighted in the very first commitment titled: Taking Radical Responsibility. The commitment states that “I commit to taking full responsibility for the circumstances of my life and for my physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well-being. I commit to supporting others to take full responsibility for their lives.”
This idea alone is an enormous shift for most of us.
Our culture teaches us to blame circumstances, other people’s behavior or our past experiences for the way we choose to show up in this world. Once we truly understand that we are the creators of our own lives, that we are 100% responsible for creating our experiences, we can stop the cycle of unconsciously creating what we don’t want and shift into the power of creating consciously.
From this perspective, our attention must go inward. There is no blaming of anything outside ourselves for where we are. If no one and nothing else is to blame, then we can look at ourselves and recognize what thoughts and beliefs have gotten us to where we are. If where we are is not where we really want to be, we can choose to drop the thoughts and beliefs that got us there in the first place.
Why hold onto that which no longer serves us?
It is empowering to know that I am the source of my own fulfillment and happiness. I alone get to choose what I think and what I believe. How incredibly freeing it is to realize that NOTHING NEEDS TO CHANGE AROUND ME FOR ME TO BE HAPPIER. I am no longer dependent on things I have no control over, like other people’s feelings, thoughts, beliefs and actions. From a 100% responsibility perspective, all I am responsible for is what I think, what I want, what I do, what I say. If I trust that is all I need to do, I can allow others to take responsibility for themselves. I get to be who I am and they get to be who they are. It is a lot less stressful to realize this, rather than needing everyone else to be a certain way and thinking that I need to make them be that way.
What I love about The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership is that it actually provides a framework for integrating the concept of radical responsibility and the other 14 commitments into everyday life. It is not just a theory, it is a practiced way of being.
It is a pathway to freedom.
Enjoy this audio snippet from a conversation that Jim and I had about taking 100% responsibility for your life.
