Hello Dizzy Butterfly
As I reflect upon A.J. Cronin’s (1951) passage and consider your eloquent post, it occurred to me how the stories we choose from this book really speak to who, and how we are as leaders. Your post was assertive, concise and filled me with the sense that you are very intentional and missional as it relates to you goals and objectives; therefore, like my theory, I felt drawn to your post because I also recognize the very real impact of one’s bias in voice and in thoughts over their physical, mental and spiritual domains. Personally, I have found that the best critical thinking version of myself will often manifest within an environment drenched in positivity and some measure of solitude. Is this why it seems that we are losing so many critical-thinkers in the modern world today – reduced faith in one’s potential and lack of time available for reflection in solitude? In his own achievement, Cronin became a beacon for the leadership lesson of persistence; however, my deeper sense is that when leaders share their struggles with others, they can find regeneration in clarity and motivation. Case in point, Cronin confided in the old man digging a patch of heath, revealing his struggle resulting in some sage-like advice releasing Cronin from his own mental prison, restarting the “unquenchable flame of resolution” (Cronin, 1951, p. 149).
Matt
Cronin, A. (1951). The virtue of all achievement is victory over oneself. Those who know this victory can never know defeat. In L. E. Watson, Light from Many Lamps (pp. 147-152). New York: Simon & Schuster.