Focusing on personal insight, courage and powerful creativity in every area of our lives can help us to develop strong leadership skills according to Simon Lee.
For many years, I have been combining mental and physical development techniques alongside a nutritional programme with extraordinary results. The idea first occurred when I found that many people who were coming to see me to get physically fit, had underlying mental health issues that needed to be resolved before they could really make progress.
Drawing on many eastern philosophies to improve physical performance, self-belief, mental focus for work, personal creativity and a sense of purpose in life here are seven key areas to work on through a combination of physical and mental health training strategies alongside a nutrition programme:
The courage of responsibility
This is often referred to as the hardest courage of all. It means having to take responsibility for everything that has happened in our lives – inside and outside of the work environment. The first stage of this is to see a way forward through dissolving blame towards others and ourselves and recognising that we must do this to be in control of our lives.
The courage of virtue
Integrity, honour and courage are values that may be out of fashion in today's society but they are the only form of real self development. Building on these values removes any need to be duplicitous. True leadership of ourselves and others can only be performed by practising these values.
The courage of self-discipline
Self discipline is not about abstaining from pleasure in order to suffer as commonly thought. It should be treated as a pleasure and returning to a process of learning about our own self discovery. By practising both physical and mental self discipline it can reinforce a greater connection between mind and body resulting in increased intelligence, mental and physical resilience and personal creativity.
The courage of self-protection
Great ideas, dreams, desires and goals are just stepping stones on the path to who we become through our life experiences. Procrastination and self-sabotage are very common reasons that we do not even attempt to reach the stepping stones. We are saturated with distractions in the environment of our modern world and our own fears draw us to them. It is essential we continually see the bigger picture within and around us and protect ourselves from issues that may deflect us from our goal.
The courage of seeking fear
Fear is the predominant emotion in today's society. We can switch off fear in order to protect ourselves but to move on and achieve our goals, we must confront fear and understand what drives it. Many people misinterpret common manifestations of intense fear for confidence and courage. It is important to develop courage and confront fear in order to defeat it.
The courage of compassion
Compassion should be at the heart of everything we do. It is the highest level of living and the only reason we truly exist according to the Samurai. Compassion is to really feel suffering and injustice around us which in turn leads to a real sense of justice. Compassion has been demonstrated by many great leaders over the years including Martin Luther King, Gandhi and Abraham Lincoln and the energy it creates never dies. Compassion is where we expand our awareness beyond what we can see and feel.
The courage of self-trust
This is the level of complete faith in ourselves. According to the Samurai, to be a warrior is to be steadfast in who we are, regardless of external circumstances. Resilient, protected and prepared. Here we can set out on a mission that is bigger than ourselves and in doing so an energy is created that is felt and absorbed by the consciousness of others. Our mission is a guided, heartfelt action.
Simon Lee’s training programme “On the Warrior’s Path” is running in Kent on 27 September. If you or your team would like to find out more or attend this truly unique, ground-breaking course email [email protected] for more information or visit www.unlimitedcourage.com
