Developing Positive Self-Concepts and Assertive Leadership

18 'Workshop DEVELOPING POSITIVE SELF-CONCEPTS AND ASSERTIVE LEADERSHIP JASPER E. ORMOND Program Director Pilot Substance Abuse Program District of Columbia Department of Corrections Medium Facility, Box 99 horion, VA 22079 Mr. Ormond spoke to youngsters drawn from Nashville-area elementary schools. Today we are going το talk about substance abuse as it relates to selfconcept , and we're going to look at two basic principles. One is mastery— being able to have absolute control over yourself at all times. The second is expression—being able to express yourself at all times. You have the right to express yourself appropriately but you also have the right to master yourself. Being able to master yourself is one of the most important things you have to be able to do to become a leader. One of the fundamental things about growing up is if you do not learn to master yourself, someone else will have mastery over you. This is really fundamental to growing up and really fundamental to leadership. The first thing you do in a mastery exercise is practice concentrating. The basic exercise of concentration is breathing. There is nothing more fundamental to power and leadership than breathing. Here is a memory exercise that consists of three questions: 1. On a scale of one to 10, whaf s one number which best describes your energy level? Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, Vol. 3, No. 1, Summer 1992 ____________________________Ormond__________________________19 2. Whaf s one word that best describes the quality of your energy? 3. Whaf s one word to best describe your genius? One of the processes of leadership is being able to first recognize that you are a genius, and realize that each person possesses a real positive genius or special skill. A part of your educational process as well as your socialization process is to find out what that genius is. As you define yourself, it should be in the framework of what a genius is. Your definition of yourself should include being a genius. When people say that you are smart, or very intelligent, these are the beginning stages of helping you understand the nature of your particular genius. As a trained psychologist, I have helped people identify the nature of their particular genius. The highest state of power that one will ever develop is the understanding and expression of that genius. It is very hard to learn how to develop that genius unless you have mastery over yourself. One must also work on developing competencies around that genius. In order for one's genius to develop and be able to express itself, you have to learn the importance of reading. Remember, leadership in being able to prevent yourself from being substance abusers means being aware of yourself at all times and knowing how to do healthy things to keep your energy level up and keep the quality of your energy very good and very healthy. As we identify how to become aware of ourselves and develop a clear understanding as to who we are, we must understand first who we are and our special skills. Everyone has a special skill. Therefore, a part of becoming powerful is understanding and developing those special skills. One must learn how to express his or her skills in a positive way that is beneficial to one's community. The reason why this conference is being held is that we realize youth will be contributing greatly to their community in the future. Regardless of what you think of your community today, its improvement will depend on the individual and how you begin to develop the genius to be able to make positive contributions to the community. Twenty years from now, today's young people will be responsible for running the world. Therefore, you need to concentrate and gain mastery over yourselves and learn to express yourselves to ensure you are contributing positively to your community. If one looks at the world as a community and each person brings a skill to the community, then the community will grow. However, if one doesn't contribute to the community, then the people who control the community will also have control over you...