Initiative and Perseverance...

We all struggle starting things even when we know they will benefit us in the end. We all would much rather enjoy the instant gratification that is here and now. In what ways can you show better initiation in your own life and leadership capabilities? Give at least one concrete example of something you are showing a lack of initiation with and at least 3 concrete steps you are going to take in order to do that.

The steps that I am going to take in order to show better initiation in my own life and leadership capabilities that I am going to not be afraid to take as many risks and I am going to learn to understand that these risks will most likely benefit me in the end, even if I don't "feel" like doing them now. A concrete example of something I am showing a lack of initiation in now is that I am not necessarily taking all the steps needed to improve in my volleyball skills, mostly with conditioning. The 3 concrete steps that I can take in order to do that is run a mile every day, do 15-30 minutes of jump rope a few times a week, and eat healthy foods and drink a lot of water.

Respond to the following scenario as it pertains to leadership and initiative...

You are a leader on a team and one of your best players, that the team relies on heavily, is struggling with completing the season for unknown reasons. They are not performing to their best capabilities, and they seem withdrawn at practice, not lifting weights very hard, but they still are competing hard during games and finding excitement in games. Using your new knowledge of perseverance, what types of questions could you ask them to find out more and what types of advice could you give them to get them through this time and persevere?

This is a tough one: Some questions that I would ask this person would include:

Is there anything that I can do to help you live up to your potential all the time?
How can we motivate you to work a little harder in practice?
What do we need to do in order to put your excitement in games towards practice as well?

I would say as my advice: We need to work hard in practice, too. If we only play hard in games, then that will be the only real chance that we have to fix things, and that is what practice is for. If we start playing hard in practice, then we will play even harder during the game.