Going The Extra Mile

This is one of the most important qualities of leadership for sure. It’s even more important to think about in this day and time.

How often do you feel you go the extra mile? What does “going the extra mile” mean to you? Even more importantly, what feelings did just reading that phrase generate inside of you? I mention that because even though I think that I do go the extra mile when I was writing this question to you I felt butterflies in my stomach! And I’ve done this for many years. So, there is obviously something in my past or inner soul that is stirred by this thought. Perhaps it’s the commitment that’s required because of making that statement in public. I don’t really know. I’ll have to work on it. I confess all this because I know that you might be feeling anxiety at having to even think about going the extra mile. Please, though, don’t let that stop you.

You can read about people who are successful and how they all went the extra mile. What that means is different for each person but it certainly does involve “stretching”.

To succeed you just HAVE to stretch. We’ve talked about stretching when we’ve talked about tithing. If you were having trouble stretching with tithing, you may not be ready to become a leader. Again I’m not trying to aggravate or irritate anyone but you have to be able to do what’s needed. Maybe you have to work longer or maybe you have to reach out to people in your community and help them.

A key element in going the extra mile is doing it without complaining. There is a great element of entitlement in this day and a feeling that things should be “free” or that an individual is “owed” something. You’ll have to examine your theories about that too.

When was the last time you went beyond what was expected of you? Was it something that you were able to do without even being asked? Was it something you were expected to do but you did it faster, more quickly, more thoroughly?

Tell us about it and about the thoughts and feelings you experience when writing about this.

Terrie