Setting An Intention To Be A Mentor

Mentoring: are we doing it?  I haven't thought about this concept since my days in business working for a large management consulting firm.   The importance of having one and being one to others struck me as I read the following Daily Word passage:

Today's Daily Word - Wednesday, May 6, 2009

MENTOR

I am patient and generous as I encourage and nurture others.

I have been blessed with teachers, counselors, and coaches who influenced my progress in meaningful ways. They offered me wisdom and knowledge gained through experience and education. At times I may have been unsure of myself or my choices, but they bolstered my confidence by pointing out my strengths and abilities. They guided me, helping me to find my own way.

Now as I offer a helping hand to young people, I accept the role of mentor as a sacred responsibility. I am patient and generous as I encourage them to stretch beyond any perceived limitations to realize their own self-worth and strengths. I challenge them to learn and to grow. I hold a vision of them excelling in life, and I take joy in seeing them reach their success.

This passage made me think about all of the wonderful mentors I have had over time and how much their words of encouragement and advice mean to me.  I am truly grateful to my mentors!  Is mentoring happening in your life?  Is it becoming a lost art?  How does mentoring happen in your home or in your community?  Do your children have mentors?   What could it be like if we brought this concept back to our attention and focused on it?  

I really appreciate the people who are mentoring and encouraging me in my life right now and boy do I feel like I need them!  Are they official mentors?  Have I been assigned to them?  No.  Gone are those days when I'd actually received an assigned mentor.  Now, mentoring happens more organically.  No one is in charge of a mentoring program.  I need to take charge and seek out mentors! Just the other day I "friended" two professional women on Facebook so I could stay connected to what they were up to and I hope to also receive some mentoring. 

It's not so easy with everyone out there being so darn busy.  It's an amazing feat just to get someone to respond back with a phone call!  What's even more interesting is the question --Who am I mentoring?  Have I had this as an intention and a way that I can be of service to others?  Not really, although I do mentor the teens in my life in a very casual way. I wonder what it could be like if we all set and intention to seek out mentors and be active mentors?  I can see how a mentor would be very helpful to my teens especially when they start looking at me as though I couldn't possibly know anything.

An example of how one of my sons benefited recently from mentoring comes to mind.  My 10 year old son was playing baseball and he ran into one of his football coaches.  The coach was so kind to take the time to let my son know that he believed in his capability and really wanted to have him back on his tackle football team.  Little did this coach know that my son has been agonizing over whether to play flag or tackle football this fall.  His football coach really helped him to see that he has great skills and he would be a strong player this year since it will be his second year playing tackle and he will be the older one in his group.  The story that my son told at the dinner table about this was priceless!   Now our son feels confident about signing up for tackle and we support his decision.

What will it take for you and I to seek out new mentors and watch for opportunities to mentor others?  How could lives improve?