Owning It

“Something happens when you feel ownership. You no longer act like a spectator or consumer, because you’re an owner. Faith is at its best when it’s that way too. It’s best lived when it’s owned.”

-Bob Goff

Earlier in the day, I had spoken to a group of ministers about emotional intelligence. My time had been spent helping them understand the set of skills that influence the way we perceive and express ourselves, develop and maintain relationships, cope with challenges, and use emotional information in an effective and meaningful way.

I had shared a story of my friend Kate. Kate’s self-perception or inner dialogue is dominated by the emotion of fear. The fear of failure, the fear of what people think, the fear of being found out, etc. Because of this fear, she hesitates in everything she does which often comes across to others as either aloof or disinterested. The impact of this behavior is that she is slow to build relationships, if at all, but desperately wants better relationships. In addition, when challenges arise or decisions need to be made, even small ones, she doesn’t cope well because it reinforces her fears. Often times, she is frozen into inaction. Her low usage of emotional intelligence is affecting her well-being and success as a leader.

Sharing the story of Kate, brought up emotions in me. Sadness. It is heart breaking to watch her consistently struggle. Disappointment in myself. I am a leadership development coach and I can’t help her. Hope. Our Father knows Kate better than I do. He has her in His hands.

Ever been there? Trying to help someone and it NOT working?

Bob Goff’s book, Love Does, was next up on my reading stack. This quote was on page vii of the book. Yes, those are roman numbers which means I was still in the introduction!

“Something happens when you feel ownership. You no longer act like a spectator or consumer, because you’re an owner. Faith is at its best when it’s that way too. It’s best lived when it’s owned.”

-Bob Goff

And then it hit me, OWNERSHIP. Kate didn’t own her fears, her fears owned her. Furthermore, I can’t own Kate’s fears or even actions because they are not mine to own. What I can do is pray! Pray that Kate meets our Heavenly Father and OWNS her faith in Christ. Then she can OWN her fears, turning them over to Him who “expels all fears.”

Where do you need His help owning something in your life?