“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough” — Oprah Winfrey
We can spend time Above the Line or Below the Line.
Above the Line is where we are learning, growing, and thriving. It’s a place of abundance.
Below the Line is where we are defensive, stuck, and surviving. It’s a place of scarcity.
Spend more time living Above the Line.
In The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership, authors Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman, and Kaley Warner Klemp remind us that Conscious Leaders spend more time living Above the Line.
We are Either ABOVE or BELOW the Line
In any given moment, we are either living Above the Line or Below the Line.
Dethmer, Chapman, and Klemp write:
“In our experience, at any point in time we are either ABOVE the line or BELOW the line. When we are defensive, closed, and committed to being right, we are below the line. Or put another way, we are committed to the survival of our ego.
When we’re open, curious, and committed to learning, we’re above the line.”
Below the Line is “To Me”
When we are Below the Line, we are a victim. Things are done to us. We play the blame game. We are stuck on being right. We are operating from a scarcity mentality. We are operating out of fear. We are closed.
Dethmer, Chapman, and Klemp write:
“The grip of toxic fear drives behaviors and beliefs below the line. Presence brings forth behaviors and beliefs above the line. Below the line is a ‘To Me’ experience, whereas above the line is a ‘By Me’ experience.
When we go below the line, our ego is fighting for survival and we become firmly entrenched in the scarcity belief: that there isn’t enough–not enough love, time, money, energy, security, control, and approval.”
Above the Line is “By Me”
When we are Above the Line, we are flexing our freedom. We are open. We are exploring. We are operating from an abundance mentality. We are operating out of love, understanding, and forgiveness.
Dethmer, Chapman, and Klemp write:
“Above the line is opening to the big fun game of learning and growing, and we trust ourselves or Source (people have many different words for source like God, Allah, Universe, Presence, Love, Jesus, the Tao) to provide us with plenty of love, time, money, energy, security, control, and approval.”
Conscious Leaders Spend More Time Above the Line
Lead yourself and others better by spending more time Above the Line. That’s what Conscious Leaders do.
Dethmer, Chapman, and Klemp write:
“In our experience, Conscious Leaders choose to spend a lot of time Above the Line in high learning states. This ‘learning agility’ mentioned in the beginning of the chapter, gives them a competitive advantage, since most people today are knowledge workers.
In contrast, unconscious leaders spend too much time trying to be right, defending their ego, and being defensive, thereby diminishing their edge in the marketplace.”
Awareness is half the battle.
When you realize that you are operating Below the Line, challenge yourself to take the high road.
The more you practice, the better you’ll get.
When you shift out of blame, you change your game.
When you operate from abundance, the world mirrors you back.
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