What do you stand for?

Taking a stand for what’s right takes courage. If you just go along to get along, well then, you’re really not taking a stand. Taking a stand means believing in something so much that you will stand up for it, protect it, and positively influence others about it.

Many times we are tempted to not stand firm. Why is that? Beyond fear, maybe it’s the desire to avoid conflict. Well yuck, that just creates conflict on your inside because it goes against who you are. That’s not healthy!

It’s never easy to take a courageous stand because there is usually a price to pay. It seems cheaper to just…

• Stand for what’s easy. Instead of thinking of the wisest thing to do we tend to take the easy route. Well, trust me, the easiest route will catch up with you and may even lead to a dead end.
• Stand for what’s popular. Seriously? We need to toss popularity out when we graduate from high school. There’s not a “most popular” award in leading.
• Stand for what’s comfortable. Careful. Comfortable decisions are usually very selfish and tend to make others uncomfortable. Comfortable is harmful to success.
• Stand for what’s beneficial. Beneficial for who? If it benefits or profits you first then you’re not taking a stand. Remember, “company, team, then me.”
• Stand for what’s wrong. Sometimes we forget why we are in the business we’re in and we let our vision for what’s right be succumbed by what’s wrong due to stress, money, adversity, pain, greed or disappointments. Stand strong! Your wrong stand will make a temporary struggle become permanent.

So, what are you standing for? Are you willing to stand up when things get compromised? Now I’m not suggesting you lose your job by standing up to your boss on something you feel is wrong. You are not his or her judge. You and I are called to be good examples with our exceptional work ethic and performance. I am suggesting that you identify what you stand for, and allow that to shine through your work and onto your teammates.