GMC News
Initiative
Georgia Military College Prep School
Word of the Week: Initiative
Week of October 18 – 24, 2015
Definition: The power or ability to begin or follow through energetically with a plan or task.
Quotable Quotes:
“Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Most of the things worth doing in the world have been declared impossible before they were done.” – Louis D. Brandeis
“Great achievement is usually born of great sacrifice, and never is the result of selfishness.” – Napoleon Hill
“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” – Milton Berle
Let’s Get to the Point:
This is not a hard trait to understand, but it is a hard one to get started on. That sofa or recliner is tough to drag ourselves out of sometimes. Initiative requires motivation on our part, and many times that is what we are missing. There isn’t always a golden carrot on the end of a stick leading us along the way. Many times we must take the initiative and get up and do things we may not want to do.
Putting Words into Action:
Initiative is a proactive measure. If we undertake a project at home or at work, we must use this characteristic to get started. As children we are taught to take the initiative in cleaning our rooms or putting up the toys lying all over the drive way. There may have been a little motivation from our parents with a stern word, but we got the job done. Well, most of the time I would suspect. That experience transitions into our older lives when it comes to doing the right thing at home or work.
Think About It:
We all have this inside of us, but sometimes it takes a little push to get us going. That ‘push’ could come from a spouse or a boss or the ever popular paycheck! But that is the trick to using this trait. You shouldn’t need a push from someone. Your initiative should come from within yourself as you try to do the very best you can.
Reflection
Bo Bennett once said, “Without initiative leaders are simply workers in leadership positions.” Many leaders are just that because they have no initiative to be the best at their job. Being a leader is more than just telling people what to do. It is leading a team effectively and motivating them to have the drive to complete the task at hand.
One person having the initiative to take action could spark an act to change the world in a better way. Initiative is not just beating someone else at an idea or task but having self-motivation, originality, and resourcefulness to contribute to the greater good of the world. If Thomas Edison didn’t have the initiative and determination to create a light source then we wouldn’t have electricity today. If Susan B. Anthony sat back and didn’t speak her mind on the inequality of women and suffrage, then women may not have the right to vote today. Many people take things for granted and don’t seem to have a direction in life, but would you want to leave this world without leaving a mark that would benefit generations to come?
In today’s society it’s hard to be the person who steps up to the plate to take charge and lead others because people are so quick to judge and ridicule you. You should be the person with the initiative to make a difference. I would like to think that I am a shining example of a person who shows initiative. I’m not afraid to lead and be the first to get up and make a difference because of what others think. I have self-motivation and determination to be the best at everything and anything I do. No one has to tell me to pass my classes, to hold the doors for others, or do things that I know could be a benefit to others. I know that nothing would ever get done in my life and in others, if I didn’t take the initiative to do it.
C/SFC Tanisha Hunt is a student at Georgia Military College Prep School
