Have you ever stopped to consider the defining moments of your life? The events that have happened that have helped you to become the person you are? You do not have to be in therapy or counseling to look at these things. Self reflection is good for the mind and the soul. I was reminded of this recently due to my daughter.
My daughter belonged to 4-H. She had been a member since she was ten years old. She was then sixteen. She had thought about quitting that year because she has so many other things that she is involved with at school, but she has friends that are still involved so she decided to stay in. One of the adult advisors asked her if she would take part in the leadership skills training seminar that is offered in Chicago. This is a national course that only a select few members are invited to attend. My daughter was very honored and excite about the invitation. She could not wait to tell me all about it.
The office I work at is close to our home. I was surprised when my receptionist told me that my daughter was there to see me. I told the receptionist to send her in. My daughter was actually glowing she was so excited when she came in. She told me about the invitation for leadership skills training. Her excitement was being selected and also the trip to Chicago. I was excited for her, but I also knew that this meant taking on a leadership role in the 4-H community that would be quite time consuming. I asked her if she was ready to give up some other things to take on this role. She had not thought beyond the leadership skills training course. She was not considering that this would put her in a position to train others and to lead several groups of 4-H members. I assured her that I thought she would be very good at this, but I wanted her to accept the invitation to the leadership skills training with a full understanding of what was expected of her. She decided that she wanted to do this.
My daughter is now twenty six years old and is the youngest woman to be the CEO of the company she works for. Her decision to take of the leadership skills training and the responsibilities that accompanied it allowed her to grow in maturity beyond her years. I am so proud of her and the wonderful way she leads her company. I am glad that she was given an opportunity and that she chose to take it.