Show me what you do to inspire me

Share it (and thank you!)

Follow Me (and I'll feel loved)

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As the regular readers of my blog know, I have begun trying to loose some weight and started a special private area of the forum for us to come together to encourage each other.  I have also started to be active in another online community, myfitnesspal.  

I went to bed last night feeling stressed and discouraged.  

As I announced my goal to loose weight, I felt overjoyed at those who were encouraged wanting to join me.  That was a huge motivator for me to continue on my journey of weight loss.  Somehow, I did something right.  But what did I do right? I thought it was just God's doing, not mine.

Then people began trying to tell me what was wrong with me and my eating habits and what I should be doing almost in a "preachy" manner, assuming I did not already know my problems or know these eating tips.  I felt stressed in two ways, first that they reminded me of what my problems were that I was already working on and, second, that they made a judgment call that I needed their help assuming I did not already know these things.

So this morning first thing I went to God's word to think more on this.  I did not realize it before, but I do now this morning, that what I was doing right was leading by example and being a good role model and not forcing anything on anyone.  I need to learn from this to be a good leader in other ventures in life.

5:2-3 Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.

Everyone leads someone else at some point.  God reminds us that those we lead are His (flock) children, not our own.  He reminds us to be eager to serve, not because it is something we have to do.  He reminds us to do everything without wanting anything in return, to give of ourselves freely.  He reminds us that we should lead by being a good role model, not by force.

I feel as if sometimes people get the first part right easily in that they are eager to teach others what they know, but when it comes to how they teach, they try to force their opinions on another rather than just being an example.  For instance, when people try to "preach" to me how to loose weight, assuming I do not already know what they are telling me, it turns me off to listening to them anymore.  However, when people share how they loose weight with me by example, maybe in what they eat or how they exercise, that is motivating to me.  I already know what I am doing wrong and am struggling to fix it.  Telling me what I already know create stress.  Show me what you do to inspire me.

I have already seen some recipes and in seeing what others are eating it is inspiring me to go grocery shopping to eat different.   Having people at myfitnesspal share their "food dairies" with me allows me to analyze what each person is doing and choose those things which I would enjoy eating to adapt as my own.  People who are forcing upon me their opinions of this or that food are rubbing me the wrong way and turning me away.

So, I write these things for myself because I am learning through this what makes a good leader and how to be a better leader myself.  I learn better when I try to put these things which I learn into text.