Leadership is Intentional

I spend a lot of time alone – I walk. I walk a lot. In fact, if I do one thing on any given day (i.e. every day), I walk. And I do not mean that I stroll from here to there. This is more than walking to the kitchen just to get a glass of water. My core aerobic exercise is walking. When I was younger, I ran. I ran daily. I ran for the health benefits. I was intentional about running. My goal was to keep my asthma symptoms under control. I began running as a young teen. My family physician suggested that I not run. “Running will only aggravate your symptoms,” my doctor said. My gut told that didn’t sound right. My gut was right. I have been engaged in running – and now walking – for forty years. And I’m still moving forward! My heart and lungs are thankful!

I am intentional about my health and being healthy.

Note: This is not a Public Service Announcement for not following the recommendations of a licensed medical professional.

I ran because it was something I could do.

I ran because I wanted to control my breathing.

I ran because I wanted to experience the health benefits of exercise.

I continued to run because my mind, body, and spirit responded positively to the activity.

I was intentional about running.

Now that I am older, I have to care for my knees. I became intentional about walking. Walking provides me the same benefits as running. I walk daily. My heart and lungs thank me every day.

Thinking is Intentional

I think a lot. The time I spend walking helps me think. I like thinking, so the best thing for me to do is to keep walking. According to Suzuki (2021), there are four key benefits to exercise, each having something to do with the brain. The list includes . . .??

1.?????Decreases anxiety

2.?????Improves focus

3.?????Promotes growth of new brain cells

4.?????Prevents aging and neurodegenerative disease

I can’t speak to ‘promoting growth of new brain cells’ or ‘preventing neurodegenerative disease’ (but both sound great to me). I can say that walking (and exercise in general) does decrease anxiety and improves focus, especially in thinking, critical-thinking, problem-solving, and communication. I love these benefits! I hope you are reaping these benefits as well!

This is a good thing, too. I like thinking. Next to walking, and exercising in general, I like to think. I think a lot. And when I think, I write.

I am intentional in my walking; I am intentional in my thinking.

Writing is Intentional

Last week I talked about a new book idea. The book focuses on becoming a leader. At a deeper level, the focus is on self-reflection. You are a leader in many different ways. You may be leading a team or small business. You may be leading a group on an adventure or a friend through a problem. You may simply be leading your family. And if you are only leading yourself through life, you are a leader. Regardless of who you are leading, you should practice self-reflection. This is best done through journal writing.

Writing helps you think with intention. ?

I use narrative to convey my message regarding growing as a leader. “John’ is the protagonist of my story. Wanting to see beyond the boundaries of his current reality, he must climb over the mountains. However, the burden of climbing the mountain was a daunting one, especially when no one did such things. No one talked about climbing the mountains. And the people in his community mocked anyone who talked about such things. All but one person – his trusted friend and mentor, Jose.

To help John understand what he was going to face if he decided to risk the climb, Jose gave John the one thing he could use to help him. That one thing was wisdom from someone who made the journey and lived to tell about it. That one person was Jose’s great-grandfather.

Your Story is Intentional

When Jose’s great-grandfather returned from the mountains, he wrote about his experiences.

This is the next part of his writing.?

Over time, I began to recognize my life from two different perspectives. The first perspective was my inner thoughts. I will add my emotions to this inner being component as well. I was both full of thoughts and emotions throughout my journey. But there were also my experiences with the world around me. As I spent more time alone, my personal universe grew very small. But as my perspective of myself changed, so did my experiences with the outer world. My world grew, little by little. The earth did not grow, but my personal world did.

At some point, since I was all alone, I probably began to go crazy at some point. Meaning, I started talking to myself, aloud. I began speaking the thoughts I was having. To some degree, it was comforting to hear someone talk. Also, since I was spending so much time alone, I was afraid that I would forget how to speak if I stopped altogether.

But that was when strange things began to happen. Well, they didn’t happen immediately. They happened slowly, over time. But that patterns that I began to experience became more consistent over time. My thoughts became my words, and my words became my reality. I do not know when I first made the connection, but it eventually connected.

The whole experience – in fact, all of my experiences – became overwhelming. I had to write them down, as well as my actual physical journey. As I look back, I say that the journey was amazing. My senses became keener. I don’t have superpowers. Well, I laugh. Maybe I do, in some ways. But I became aware of myself from both inside and outside like I never had before. My life changed. And my world became mine to control, rather than being controlled by it. It is a journey that I now need to share with as many people as I can. This journal will help me do just that.

Reference

Suzuki, W. (2021). A neuroscientist shares the 4 brain-changing benefits of exercise – and how much she does every week. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/22/neuroscientist-shares-the-brain-health-benefits-of-exercise-and-how-much-she-does-a-week.html

Thanks for reading!

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