With all of the change occurring around us these days, I have heard several questions surrounding the word: “Legacy”. Folks have asked, what will the legacy of x be? What will this mean to Y?
I thought about it and have a question I want to ask.
Have you ever thought about your own legacy upon leaving a meeting? I mean, it’s just one meeting, in one day, of one week, of one month, of one year, right? But think about all of those “legacy moments” and how they add up to the big overall legacy picture.
A tiny rudder named “Intentionality” steers a big ship called the “Your Legacy”.
Which is why I thought long and hard about how I wanted to sign-off my “Thought for the week…”. What were the last words I wanted to leave with you every week? After all, it’s a simple 400 or so word blog, once a week, 52x a year… but eventually you’ll have enough of these blogs to get a sense of my perspective.
What’s my legacy with you?
“Be Intentional” is as much a reminder to myself as it is to “all y’all” reading this. Everything we do, we are responsible for our thoughts, emotions, actions, and motives. We own who we are and how we behave. Granted we can’t control what happens to us but we can control how we respond. I’ve told my husband more than once that he can’t control the red lights but he can control how he feels about sitting at a red light. (And he is free to disagree with me.)
“Be intentional” means…
- Taking the time to think through scenarios and what our actions/words should be. This way we are not randomly responding. Or as they say, “shooting from the hip”. Loose lips sink legacy ships.
- Owning our words. The most successful professionals never say things to just make themselves feel better. Leaders’ words are powerful and should be weighed carefully.
- Understanding that emotions have a place means they need to be managed. To do that, thought must be put into why you feel a certain way and knowing your personal hot buttons.
- Checking and double checking our motives. Are you saying “X” just to make yourself feel better? Or, as a servant leader, are you striving to make the team better?
In summary, be intentional in thought, word and deed this coming week. Measure your thoughts and be intentional with your words. My Sunday school teacher often said, “say what you mean and mean what you say” In other words: “Be intentional”.
Melissa
