Okay, so if you are reading this post, I guess that you had a little bit of trouble coming up with 5 acts of initiative that you have taken within the past year. So let me ask you a few questions to prompt you….
1. Do you remember one time during the past year when you did something around the house without being asked to by one of your parents? What did you do and when did this happen?
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2. Do you remember a time during the past year when you learned something that was not required by your school, but you read and learned something because you wanted to know more? What did you learn and when did this happen?
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3. Do you remember a time during the past year when you volunteered to do something, maybe at your church or place of worship, or with a club or a sports team? Maybe with a local community group? What did you do, and what were the results?
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4. Do you remember a time during the past year when you didn’t want to do something, because you didn’t feel as though you “had to,” or you just didn’t want to do the task in the same manner that you were being told to do it? Maybe you just didn’t like the current system that was in place, and you felt as though it was cutting into something that was important to you?
Did you then change your mind and complete the task, and realize that it wasn’t so bad after all? Write down the circumstances and explain why you changed your mind below:
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5. Do you remember a time during the past year when you were a bit apprehensive or unsure about trying something new, but you went ahead and tried it anyway? Maybe it was trying a new sport or learning a new skill, or helping someone else? What happened and what were the results?
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If you have been able to come up with answers for the questions above, then congratulations, because you have just created your list of the 5 acts of initiative that you have taken within the past year.
Below I repeat the five questions, and I give you my thoughts on why these are all acts of initiative, at least in a sense….
1. Do you remember one time during the past year when you did something around the house without being asked to by one of your parents? What did you do and when did this happen?
Performing daily maintenance activities (such as chores around the house) isn’t necessarily going to be fun, and it may be a tad boring and mundane. But you will have to perform these activities at the Air Force Academy, as well as during your adult life.
When you look out for your own well-being and the well-being of your family by performing household tasks before being asked to do so, you are showing responsibility. And that’s what a leader does, even with tasks that are a tad boring and mundane.
2. Do you remember a time during the past year when you learned something that was not required by your school, but you read and learned something because you wanted to know more? What did you learn and when did this happen?
Think of reaching all of the goals that you have set in your life as if you were planning and building a house with a crawl space underneath.
Think of the crawl space as consisting of everything that you are required to do in your life. You are required to go to school, at least until you reach a certain age. As part of going to school, you are required to do homework. If you participate in other activities such as sports, you may be required to do other thing, such as attending and participating in practices.
So think of those “requirements” in your life as the crawl space underneath the house that you are trying to build. A crawl space gets the house off the ground. It’s very important and vital, but if you want to build a house, just having the crawl space isn’t enough.
You’re going to be mighty cold if all that you are left with is a crawl space created from the “requirements” in your life.
You need to add a frame. You’ll want to finish the house. You’ll even want to probably throw in some furniture, and a flat-panel TV! You’re going to get these things through the work and actions that you take outside of meeting all of the “requirements” in your life.
If this sounds like a bit of cold harsh reality, that’s because it is. I’m sure that there are times when many of us would like to believe that simply doing required tasks-and not pushing ourselves to learn more, to accomplish more, and to be more effective - will bring us all of the success and good things that we want in life. But it just doesn’t work that way, whether in school, in work, or in the way that you spend your free time.
So if you learned something new this past year on your own time, good for you! If not, then I encourage you to run to your local public library to find a book on a subject that interests you, or go to a local community center to sign up for a class or to take part in an event.
One final thought. Make that new thing that you learn something that will challenge you intellectually, physically, or spiritually. Learning how to play a new video game doesn’t count!
This is getting to be a sizeable blog entry, so I think that I’ll continue on with Question #3 in the next post.
Until then, use your initiative, and get out there and seize the day!
To Your Success,
Elizabeth
P.S. For more information, pick up a copy of the book Zoomie to Be: How to Win an Appointment to the Air Force Academy. You can get it in electronic format by going to www.airforceacademyappointment.com or in paperback by going to www.lulu.com/content/364596 .