Guess What? You're a Mentor
No one really wants to admit it, but we are selfish people-focused way more on ourselves than others. I know, super encouraging, right? Hold on and stay with me.
A few years ago, I received an email from a former student. The note came as a bit of a surprise. She wrote a good-sized paragraph on how my class impacted her life and how much she appreciated me. But that's not what surprised me. I didn't remember her. At all. I didn't remember her name, having her in class, or when she was in class. Some teacher, I was right? While I am thrilled I was able to make an impact and the note brought a huge smile to my face, I could help but wonder what kind of impact I could have made if I had paid attention. I had the unique privilege of influencing this young girl's life. What did I do with that opportunity? To be honest, in my early days as a teacher, I was shortsighted in my ability to lead. I was dialed into the results of my students rather than the relationships I was building. Because results, to me, meant I was doing a good job. It was about me.
We can't just invest in ourselves and our goals. We also must invest in the lives of others. We do this by building relationships and being a mentor to others. Yes, you are a mentor. Everyone is, to someone. No matter how old you are, no matter your experiences, there is always someone looking up to you. The question is, what are you doing with that relationship? Are you ignoring it? Using it for your own personal gain? Completely oblivious to it? We tell ourselves that we are entitled to accomplish our goals, keep climbing our mountain, and be successful. We convince ourselves that the people in our lives need us to be successful first and relational second. When the truth is, relationships matter more than most anything.
So I have a question for you today: "What are you doing to make other people better, the way they are created to be?"
Everyone is a leader in some capacity because we have influence (even if only a little) over other people. And it's a bit sobering to think that your influence in another person's life can impact their growth and success as a person. In other words, people's lives can be better because of you.
I'm not saying you ought to stop chasing after your goals. Not at all. Keep at it. Dig in, commit to them, and don't stop until you achieve success. But don't lose sight of the relationships you are building and influencing along the way. Imagine the joy of getting a note in a few years thanking you for being an incredible mentor, not by accident (like me), but because you intentionally took the time to invest and build into their life.
Challenges/Points:
Even if you don't know, don't care, or don't even want to be, you are a mentor to someone because someone else looks up to you.
You can't spend all your time and energy investing in yourself and your goals; you must take time for others as well.
You have influence. And because you do, you have the opportunity and responsibility to make people's lives better.
Questions:
Who is looking up to you? Even if this is hard, make a list and pay attention.
What are you doing with the relationships you have with those who are looking up to you?
What's one thing you can do today to invest in the life of another?
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