Why should I show initiative?
Our True Character word of the month is initiative.
Initiative means doing things without being told.
Now, we can ask the question, “why should I show initiative?”
Well, when we’re looking at the why of things, we want to look at 2 things: our rewards and our consequences.
Our rewards
What are some of the rewards of showing initiative?
Well, we talked earlier in the month about initiative and goal setting. When we set goals and we achieve them, it’s really rewarding. It’s one of those things that makes us feel really good, deep on the inside.
We feel like we’ve done something we’ve always wanted to do or something we haven’t done before.
It takes a lot of initiative in order to do something that you haven’t done before, in order to achieve something in life.
One of the things I like to say is, looking back into the past, what do you remember? Do you ever really remember a day you sat around and did nothing? Or do you remember your goals that you’ve achieved in life?
For example, earning a black belt. Do you think that’s one of those things that, way down the road when you’re much older, you can look back and always remember that day?
Earning your black belt will always be one of those things you’ll list off that you’ve achieved in life. These are the rewards of actually earning our goals, and showing the initiative to get there.
The consequences
Of course, there are also consequences of not showing initiative, right?
If we don’t show initiative, we don’t get to earn our goals. We don’t get to earn more freedom with our parents. We don’t get that great feeling of doing things we haven’t done before.
We wind up getting stuck where we’re at. And we never want to be stuck. We always want to be moving forward.
So, we make sure to keep showing that initiative at home. We keep earning our goals. And we realize when we get stuck we need to push past that so we can really be proud of what we’re accomplishing and where we’re going.
Thanks, and we’ll see everybody on the mat.
-Master Helsdon