The Importance Of Self-leadership When You Want To Realize Your Dreams

The importance of self-leadership is evident in the fact that it is based on the ability to consciously control one’s own thoughts and feelings. This means that you focus all your resources, your motivation and inner energy on what you want to achieve. In this way, you develop a competence that allows you to trust yourself in all situations.

When you hear the word  leadership , you are probably automatically imagining a certain person inspiring a group of people to achieve certain goals. To lead means above all to exercise influence.

Self-leadership is not exactly a new concept. It was coined in the 1980s by Charles Manz, a professor at the University of Massachusetts who specializes in this particular area of ​​human behavior. This is how the idea of ​​self-leadership came about, and this was then consolidated thanks to modern trends that focus on such things as emotional intelligence.

Although self-leadership is particularly valuable in business and personnel issues, it is more closely related to the field of psychological health. To lead is to be master of one’s own destiny, to approach a state of happiness. It is an area of ​​personal development that includes aspects that are essential to your own well-being.

The importance of self-leadership: what is it about?

The concept of self-leadership emerged more than forty years ago for a very specific reason. The reason was that when training leaders, the most important factor was forgotten. That no person can become a good leader if he first knows himself. In addition, one must master the art of managing one’s emotions and know exactly how to steer one’s behavior toward the desired goals.

If you neglect these areas, you will not be able to manage different groups of people. How can you imagine that it is possible to show a group of people the way to their goal if you do not know how to behave with yourself? Socrates pointed out that no one can be a good teacher without first knowing himself. In other words, no human being can influence anyone else if he does not have the ability to control his own inner self.

Nowadays, more and more research is being conducted on this type of self-government. Among other things, researchers at Arizona University have conducted studies that analyze differences between different cultures. Furthermore, there are books that can help people develop self-leadership. One such example is: Self-Leadership: How to Become a More Successful, Efficient, and Effective Leader from the Inside Out , written by Professors Andrew Bryant and Ana Kazan.

Self-awareness: knowing who you are

Benjamin Franklin pointed out that there are three things that are extremely difficult: to break steel, to crush a diamond and to get to know yourself. And of course, there are few things that are as complicated as calling your own world. This presupposes that one acknowledges one’s limitations and vulnerabilities. Furthermore, it means that you explore your potential, map your own needs and get an insight into who you are and where you are going.

But that’s exactly what self-leadership is all about: becoming fully aware of who you really are.

Intentions: what do you want?

What do you want out of life? What demands do you make on yourself? Above all, your intentions mean that you focus on an important purpose and work towards it. To be able to answer the question  why you need to know what your purpose is. Because if you have no reason, all your efforts will be meaningless. Remember that you must find meaning in what you do to be able to direct your energy and your ideas towards your goals.

Self-leadership and self-awareness

Self-leadership is associated with self-awareness. Your self-awareness makes you aware of your relationship with the outside world and of how your emotions affect your moods, and thereby also your decisions and behaviors. When you have self-awareness, you have the ability to look inward and interpret, understand and regulate all your actions.

Self-efficacy: knowing your worth and what you can do

Self-efficacy is a very interesting and important concept coined by the psychologist Albert Bandura. It refers to your experience of being able to perform something in a suitable and effective way.

Self-leadership is something that implies the dimension of self-efficacy. In this way, you become aware that you have the resources you need to be able to deal with whatever happens. When you can face challenges, you feel in control, safe and motivated.

Self-responsibility: the disciplined mind

The term self-management refers to your ability to create habits and routines and to manage your time in the right way to be able to fulfill your daily goals. It also relates to your ability to find creative solutions to your problems.

Self-management means that you know how to react in all situations without relying on others. So you do not expect others to come to your rescue if you end up in difficult situations. All the dimensions we mentioned above are covered by the concept of self-management , which is an extremely important part of self-leadership.

In conclusion, we want to emphasize the importance of self-leadership, which is a valuable tool you should definitely invest time in learning to manage. If you have a developed sense of who you are, what you can do and what you want, you will have the opportunity to bring your emotions and behaviors into harmony, which will lead to you being able to realize your dreams. It gives you opportunities that are hard to resist.