How to Overcome Self-doubt and Embody Mindful Leadership
Mindful leadership is a call to share your skills to fearlessly serve others to alleviate suffering in the world.
Dear mindfulness teacher,
When a war breaks out in the world, that's when your wisdom and loving action is needed most.
In the midst of such difficult times for many, most people get stuck asking: “Why is this happening?”
But when you embody mindful leadership, you see things differently.
Putting your mindfulness practice into action for a better world
When you step into mindful leadership, you feel the compassion in your heart and ask:
How do we wisely move forward so this doesn’t happen again?
How do we use our energy to move toward the world we want, rather than let fear drain our energy away from love-based action?
How do we empower others to feel such a sense of safety, self-trust, and compassion that they simply will not have the need to do anything that would cause suffering to another?
Thanks to mindfulness, you've practiced getting into your heart and meeting fear and stress from a calm space of your inner wisdom.
You know the importance of taking a pause and seeing things (including your fears or doubts) objectively.
That's why now is not the time to hesitate or doubt yourself.
Now isn't the time to ask whether you can make a difference...
Now is the time to recognize that you already know how to help others and to DO IT.
Now is the time to use the love in your heart as fuel to serve at a higher level.
Now is the time to use the wisdom you’ve gained to guide others to a better life.
“The more you are motivated by love, the more fearless and free your actions will be.” - Dalai Lama
Recognize how you're changing the world already
Here's why the work you’re doing to share mindfulness is so important right now.
YOU are teaching people what it feels like to be:
Less reactive and more intentional.
Less judgmental and more loving.
Less self-critical and more trusting of themselves.
You’re giving people the hope that it is possible to live differently. You’re showing them that they are greater than their emotions. That they have the power to direct their attention in positive ways.
But most of all, by showing them how to courageously go within, you're addressing the root cause of all suffering in our world:
FEAR.
Fear that there isn’t enough to go around...enough resources...enough land...enough food...enough money...or enough love.
Fear that we're not powerful enough to take care of our needs without controlling other people or circumstances.
Fear is such a deep disconnection from life that we don’t trust ourselves to be the source of our own joy.
A constant looking outside to find ways to feel powerful because we forgot we are worthy just as we are in this moment.
And yes, these fears have been engrained in the minds of humanity for centuries.
But with your help, collectively, we're all doing our own hard work of releasing them.
With mindfulness, we are moving closer to realizing our common humanity, our connection, and our own inner power.
And that's why the work you’re doing is so important.
Mindful leadership takes courage - and you have it
Changing the world takes energy.
It takes using your creative power to disrupt old patterns that no longer serve humanity.
This is where the concept of fierce compassion comes in sweet soul. This is where your inner bodhisattva comes alive.
Now isn’t the time to hide in the shadows dear mindfulness teachers.
Now is the time to embody the courage and wisdom that’s always been within you. This is what you’ve been training for. This is what you already know how to do.
I know that it's not easy to get out of the comfort zone and disrupt old patterns.
But it’s time to set that fear aside. To feel it. To honor it. But to do it anyway.
Not for you, but for all those whose life will be better because of your courage and mindful leadership.
You're not alone: stronger in sharing mindfulness together
The best part about being a mindful leader is that you're never alone in this.
There are thousands of loving souls just like you with the same passion for helping others through mindfulness.
Connect with them. Share your challenges and your successes to learn from one another. If you graduated from a mindfulness program, connect with other students from your class.
There's a wonderful MBSR mentorship and support community out there along with countless other communities that you can find by simply searching for mindfulness teacher groups on LinkedIn or Facebook.
Soon, you'll also have the opportunity to learn from fellow mindfulness teachers about how they've successfully been able to impact more individuals, organizations, and communities through their work. If you'd like be notified when registration opens for this heart-based mindfulness marketing mastermind, you can sign up here.
As those who understand the power of mindfulness to change people’s lives, it’s up to us to take the lead together.
“A leader is not someone who says: Follow me. A leader is someone who says: I'll go first.” - Neale Donald Walsch
Now's the time to use your mindfulness to practice to keep moving past any doubt or fear so you can help people when they need you most...now.
Meet the fear directly so leading with love becomes easy
Mindful leadership starts with recognizing the fear of being seen, judged, or laughed at for being different. Feeling that fear and being with it in a loving space of awareness.
Because here’s something much greater at stake here. Something much greater than your personality or your ego.
This is about humanity coming together in love and trust.
This is about teaching ourselves a new way of being so that we no longer act in ways that hurt others or the planet.
This is the work you’re doing when you share mindfulness.
You're changing the world every single time you take a loving action, no matter how small. All acts of love and kindness count more than ever.
So check in with your heart, kind soul. You have a mission here. What is it?
What will you do today to use that beautiful love in your heart to lift up another’s life?