Following The Need

Prioritize the needs of others and diminish the needs of self—continual giving makes room for abounding grace. — Dan Leatherman (@danleatherman) March 30, 2012

I used to think self-design was the best way to make a product someone else will use—because if you need it, surely someone else needs it. As I’m maturing I’m noticing more and more people (including myself) have based their life goals solely on self. I want more money. I want a family. I want to work for myself. I want a better apartment. While these are all starting points, a lot of the time we’re afraid to take it one level deeper. I want more money because… I want a family because… I want to work for myself because… I want a better apartment because… By completing the thought we get a better sense of purpose in our lives and depending on how we answer, we’ll be able to gauge whether our needs are based on serving others or only self serving.

It should never be about self—always about others and what they need. If it ever becomes fully about self and too personal to give up control, we’ll surely fail. If it starts out and remains about others, we’ll flourish in it.

I think personally, I struggle with this in every aspect of my life. I continuously make goals that are completely self-centered and often forget the impact they have on my extended reach.

I’ve started to make sure my goals contain the real reason for the goal as well as the goal itself—it gives me a way to measure my accomplishments as well as my shortcomings.

Following the need has always led to growth for me personally and professionally over the last two years. Let’s continue to look outside of ourselves and set measurable goals for our futures.