Seasons

You know, like I'm beginning to recognize the times and seasons in my life. This season is really only a little reflection time, and like alot of time being out there, doing planning, speaking in front of people, negotiating. Like I've been thrown into battle suddenly.

During this period, it's the season where your character is revealed, as compared to the time of the 'cocoon', as one leadership trainer I met put it, where our character and values are being formed and refined.

Which is why I haven't been blogging. It's just not the season for me to blog. So bear with me la. I know it's not v interesting to hear about how sian I've been, or how long a day's been, or what not. Haha I'm basically repeating the story for thousands of other lives around me.

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Anyway I've just read Xinhong's blog over the past few days and I thought the thing he mentioned about people wanting to change you rather good to dwell on.

I think like people would really make a difference in this world; one thing is that they are in essence, different from the rest. I think that's one fact that will remain.

If we seek to be different from the world, then we must be different. Sounds painfully obvious. But how many people around you say that they want to be history makers or make a real difference in the world, and then, when the next person comes and tell them to get in line with the rest of the world, they do it.

They act the same, dress the same, believe the same. Like that how to change the world.

So we get people who tell other that they're too driven, too intellectual. I get people telling me I should adjust myself here and there to suit them. I should be less emo (reflective). Shoud be this, should be that.

Actually, it's really that somethings we do that make people uncomfortable, because like what Xinhong says; reveals their insecurity. A secure person doesn't mind someone around him to be stronger say, spiritually, intellectually, in strength of character wise, in motivation. In fact he enjoys the fact that there are people around him that he can learn from.

An insecure person however, deep in their heart, sees something like that as a threat. Of course no one admits it la. It happens at the heart level.

I mean of course there are those who just don't understand why people are different from them. Well, God made us all originals mah. I mean that's you hear and preach all the time.

I mean, if we really accept the premise that God did make us all different, why are we so surprised to see someone behaving, believing, liking different things from us?

In my role as a leader, my job is not to find people who are like me to be on the team. My job is to find people with diverse strengths to fill the roles that suit them the best. I'm weak at connecting to people at a group level; fine, I find someone who can to complement me.

When I put a team of 3 on a project, we need people from all 4 spectrums of the DISC personality. Need a D to drive it, an I to connect to the people on a larger manner, S-es for support and connecting one-to-one, as well as C-s to do the detailed planning.

When you're a leader, there's really no space for you to go and think about and complain that people are different from you. You start thinking about where the person fits best in the organism.

As the saying goes, a good team leverages on each other's strengths and cover each other's weaknesses.

You know, to really appreciate this difference, we must in our hearts know what God called us for. If we know what God called us for in our lives. What ministry and calling and stuff, we won't be going around feeling insecure, jealous and ignorant about others' calling.

We begin to understand that God has called us to strengths in different areas. It's almost like saying, I'm travelling path X, you're doing path Y. Who's faster? I don't know, we're not travelling on the same pathway, we have different obstacles, different valleys and peaks. There's totally no basis for comparison.

The fact that society does try to bring us into common ground through our GPAs to grade our lives, doesn't mean we have to listen to it.

We're unique; we walk different roads.

Don't walk another's.

=))