Ordinary people are at their strongest when aligned with their personal values. For example, leaders who are clear about their personal values and goals are better prepared to make choices based on principles. Know that God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things.
God doesn’t need our ability, but rather our availability. He uses ordinary people who have nothing of their own to offer, but their faithfulness and willingness to do extraordinary things.
In everyday life as a leader, ordinary people are talented people who—no matter their age, background, discipline or function—gravitate to organizations where they can demonstrate their abilities. The philosopher Aristotle offered an explanation of ordinary people when he said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act, but a habit.”
Viktor Frank, a Jewish psychiatrist, survived three horrifying years in the Auschwitz-Birkenau and Dachau concentration camps operated by the Nazi regime during World War II. What kept him from committing suicide, as many of his campmates did, was the idea that his suffering had to have meaning. His life had to have a purpose, even in the darkest of circumstances. Viktor Frank was truly an extraordinary person.
Ordinary people often see the world differently because they practice the art of critical thinking which allows them to accomplish extraordinary things in life. Leaders are expected to be extraordinary thinkers. Leadership is not merely about your values. It’s also about the values of others.
Shared values are the foundation for building productive relationships with one another. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things honor the diversity of their many acquaintances, and they stress common values. They don’t try to get everyone to be in accord with everything.
Finally, ordinary people who are extraordinary thinkers build their purpose in life often by thinking outside the box. For example, the Wright Brothers had an extraordinary idea that man could fly. Had they left it at that, who knows where we would be today. So, it is okay to be ordinary but think critically to accomplish the extraordinary things in life and Never Give Up! Never Give Up! Never Give Up!
By Dr. Walter Ghosten
chaplain@lhp.net
