Leaders can struggle when aspirations exceed abilities. Effective leaders tend to bite off more than we can chew. It’s a common occurrence in the minds of us who aspire to do more and be more.
Rainy Day at the Beach
My family and I traveled to Panama City, Beach this past weekend. It was a larger group than normal as Grant brought my nephew and Ashtyn brought two of her friends. Five teenagers was an experience!
One day, it rained for the better part of it. I offered to take the girls to Starbucks and Barnes and Noble to get them out of the condo until the weather cleared. I wanted to buy a book that I could read on the beach.
My Abilities
Although I love leadership books, I generally like to read something else on vacation.
I visited the new release section, the biographical section, the best seller section, the American history section, and the World War II section. While the selection was overwhelming, I had my gameplan. I was going to work within my abilities, rather than my aspirations. A short book, less than 200 pages, that I could knock out in a few days.
I love to read but am a notoriously slow reader. My mind drifts, I have to re-read things, I take notes, and I highlight key points. I have always been envious of those who can read a book in a day or two.
So…it was decision time. I bought the book on one of my favorite figures in American history and his role in one of the most pivotal periods in world history. The book is called The Light of the Battle written by Michel Paradis. It tells the story of General Dwight D. Eisenhower’s role in the planning of D-Day, an event that changed the course of human history.
When Aspirations Exceed Abilities
Here is the deal…the book ended up being over 400 pages! Even though I was fixated on leaving that store with a book that was less than 200 pages, my aspirations exceeded my abilities. Two beach days in…I am on page 52! Short of a miracle on the last day, I don’t see myself covering the final 350 pages.
The book is great, but my aspiration to complete the book far exceeded my abilities. I even attempted to read it without a pen in my hand to speed up the process. So…what did I do? I now have a bunch of folded pages that mark leadership quotes I need to go back and underline!
Abilities Conquering Aspirations
Quite frankly, this Blog was aspirational. In January of 2021 I decided I was going to post every Monday morning. Not every other Monday, not the first Monday of the month, but EVERY Monday.
Honestly, there have been several Sunday nights I thought about throwing in the towel. As I see the hour reaching midnight at this moment, this is certainly one of those nights. But, I am grateful that my abilities include persistence. For 185 consecutive weeks, I have been able to provide content to the followers of Leadership and Main.
Tonight though, I will not meet my aspiration of 900 to 1,200 words. The beach calls one more day before we head home. Tonight, my abilities will conquer my aspirations.
Conclusion
Therefore, my closing thoughts. We didn’t get to where we are as leaders on the backs of just our abilities. It was our aspirations that pushed us further, made us dream bigger, and created visions that we relentlessly pursued. It guided us.
Aspirations can outrun our abilities if we are not careful. If we get too far ahead of our abilities we can stumble, fall, or burnout. At some point, there is a delicate balance that needs to be struck between our aspirations and our abilities. It is a tension we should wrestle with daily.