Lately, I’ve found myself reflecting on past chapters of my life and a common theme surfaces: I’m shocked at how much I did not notice at the time!
It’s an odd phenomenon because I certainly was walking, talking, making decisions, and feeling emotions. Yet looking back, I realize how narrow my lens actually was.
I think of times I was in close proximity with loved ones, yet missed what was truly happening in their lives. Or moments when I stayed in situations that did not reflect self-respect, or spiraled in circular disagreements with people, wondering why I felt so confused.
In those previous chapters, my focus was often consumed by an unconscious self-centeredness or an eagerness to please. I was missing the wider view— the ability to see myself, others, the world, or broader context in general.
This realization is at the heart of my devotion to uplifting spiritual and mental maturity, what I call inner leadership. It is the ongoing practice of expanding what we can hold in our awareness and embodiment.
And this inner expansion mirrors the evolution of stepping into outer leadership.
Insight
When someone steps into outer leadership, personally or professionally, their vision must expand. They learn to recognize, understand, organize, and work with pieces of the larger puzzle that were seemingly invisible to them before.
I find this exact shift happens as we mature spiritually and mentally, it can show up as:
- Spiritual Maturity (The Heart & Soul): greater capability to be guided by love, take care of ourselves, build connection and community with others, and embody stewardship and service in the collective whole.
- Mental Maturity (The Mind): greater capability for critical thinking, sound decision-making, and generating or weighing alternative perspectives to expand what we see as possible.
In both inner and outer leadership, we are invited to mastery: learning how to be within the process, while simultaneously staying aware of the process.
It is the art of zooming in to act, and zooming out to see— moving seamlessly between the details and the bigger picture.
Here is how I’ve been strengthening my own inner leadership lately:
- Enriching my perspective: Reading thoughtful research, unbiased news, and opinion essays to develop my own reasoning, refine my worldview, and connect new insights to what I care about most in order to bring change.
- Practicing self-compassion: Extending understanding and forgiveness to earlier versions of myself. Remembering I was a different person then, and making better choices now.
- Immersing in uplifting dialogue: Surrounding myself with conversations centered on well-being, art and creativity, joy, positive change, and collaborative communities.
