Tag Archives: character

3 Fears that Undermine Your Authenticity

Posted on by 0

3 fears that undermine authenticityThere’s something not quite right.

Something just isn’t sitting well in your gut.

You can’t quite place it exactly, but there is something wrong between the words and something else.

Have you ever heard the adage that communication is only 7 percent verbal and 93 percent non-verbal? Well, much of it is a pernicious myth, but there is some truth in the idea of congruence between what you say and how you say it. And when we witness a lack of congruence (in our perception) it is often that ‘gut’ feel, that sense of unease that causes us to mistrust what we are hearing.

We’ve all hidden something about ourselves from others.

We’re all tempted to “spin” to protect ourselves from some vulnerability or difficult situation. Sure, I have plenty of hidden parts, thank you. My recent intimate relationship with death has led to a great deal of mind spring-cleaning. In so doing, I’ve come across three common fears that cause us to hide some of our authenticity: rejection, exposure and vulnerability.

emPowered by the Leadership AdvantEdge

Brought to you by Dr John Kenworthy  

Right-click to Download the MP3 | Open Player in New Window

Continue reading →

Golf doesn’t build character, it reveals it!

Posted on by 0

Golf is a wonderful teacher, but what you learn from it depends on your nature and character. Golf is about you against the course. Unlike other sports, with the possible exception of downhill ski-ing, your competitors actions, successful or not, do not change your game. You can allow other people to affect your playing, but that, as we shall discuss, is very much your own choice. Golf strips away your ego, pumping it and stroking it one moment only to relentlessly batter it a moment later.

Golf provides you a wonderful opportunity to explore and understand your own nature to an extent that few other activities in life allow you to do.

It’s no real surprise that so much business is done on the golf course. What better way is there to observe and assess a person’s nature before considering doing a business deal with them? Watching how someone else experiences the game provides so many insights into their character that you’ll quickly establish whether this is someone you could work with or not. If, for example, your potential business associate berates himself or herself, throws down their clubs, shouts at the caddie, whines or whinges about making a poor shot – it’s not a big leap of imagination to know how they behave in a working situation. Someone who blames everything except themselves on the golf course will be the same in business. When they sneer at your good shots, and cheer at your mistakes – guess what they be like in business – looking after your interests? I think not. Someone who focuses on the target, learns from mistakes and keeps moving forward in good humour… you want that in business don’t you?

This is one of the reasons that golf is such a great way to develop your leadership as well. Conquer those demons on the golf course, and you’ll conquer them at work too. Golf is a mirror, and the golf ball is perfect feedback. You may not like what you see in the mirror at first, and only you can do something about it. No-one else will do it for you – in fact they can’t. You can though, guide others.
Not only so, but let us also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. Romans 5:3-4 – NIV)