Do you Sit or Stand?
I am sure that you are saying, “That depends on the situation, Scott.” I agree. Maybe a better question would be:
Are you sitting when you should stand, and standing when you should sit?
Years ago I heard someone say, “If you do not Stand for something, you will Fall for anything!”
For what do you stand? Do you stand for – support, believe in, respect – something? Or – like many people I have met over the years – do you just say nothing when something happens that goes against your beliefs?
Are you standing in your life, or just sitting there on the sidelines, hoping that things in your life will change? If you are in the second group, I would strongly advise that you stand up and get busy doing things that take you in the direction of your dreams. While you are at it, start supporting groups who represent your beliefs.
If I want to know a whole lot about you – even if we had met recently – all I have to do is see two things:
– your Checkbook (or your bank statement for those of you who do not write checks), and;
– your Calendar.
The example I have used for years is this: If you tell me that you are a big believer in the Scouts, but I look at the items above and see (1) no donations made to the Scouts, and (2) no time that you have invested supporting the Scouts, then I DO NOT BELIEVE YOU. You obviously do NOT believe in the Scouts, or there would be PROOF.
Are you going forward toward making your dreams a reality? Well, show me the proof. More importantly, show YOURSELF the proof.
Years ago I was building (or, should I say, I thought I was building) a network marketing business. One day I met with my mentor, and I complained about my slow growth. He proceeded to do one thing that radically changed my business forever. He said, “Show me your calendar.”
Say whaaaaat? Yep, he had the audacity to ask me for proof that I was putting consistent action behind my big words. I had been talking about how badly I wanted to succeed and how big my dreams were. Needless to say, when I opened up my calendar and looked, what we both saw was a lot of nothing. I had been talking a good game, but I had been “building” my business …while sitting on my good intentions.
That is enough about Standing for today. Now let me turn the attention to the other question: When should you Sit?
If you are going to be truly successful in life, you need to learn Humility. There are times in life when you need to make the time to sit with someone. You need to comfort someone, and that is hard to do when you are standing, and they are sitting.
There are times when you need to explain something to a child of yours, or maybe to an employee or someone whom you are mentoring. If you stand during such interactions – while they are sitting – you are physically “lording over them.” You are subconsciously showing them your superiority, instead of meeting them AT THEIR LEVEL – physically, as well as emotionally.
Yes, there are times in life when you need to Stand, and there are times when you need to Sit. The important part is determining when to do each action.
Give each interaction forethought, pray for Wisdom, and you will know when to Stand, and when to Sit. If you will do these actions, I believe you will make the right choices!
