Taking Off The Jacket

Written by: Daniel Richard

4 Comments

Image courtesy of Okko Pyykkö

Are you the kind of person who is seen wearing a jacket for most of the time of the week? It’s fine if you are situated in a place that is either low in temperature or if you are in a corporate setting where coat and overalls are a must.

What about the times when you are supposed to be doing work that you are serious and passionate about? How about times when you are having your break and while spending more casual time?

Take off that jacket. Let’s see what this term exactly means.

Taking the lead

In this article, references to jacket and leadership are synonymous. We see executives wearing their coats proudly as it resembles their authority in the office (“hah! I got a more expensive suit than you” mentality). That was for a more extreme example, but raise up your hands if you know someone like that.

If the office is cold, surely a jacket would help keep them warm and that’s alright. However if that same person is spotted wearing one possibly over sized coat in the areas especially during the lunch hour on the streets in the tropical region where the temperature can go as high as 32°C, either that guy is someone filled with pride, or he is plain ignorant.

Leaders know themselves perfectly well. They are aware of themselves and walk in wisdom. They too know how to be sensitive to their environment and that they dare to take the lead for choices that have the most obvious answers to them.

Of course, they too should know exactly how to dress well, where there confidence allows them to naturally wear something that is suited for the occasion and yet be comfortable of themselves.

5 things that taking off the jacket signifies

Here’s a list of 5 things that the term “taking off the jacket” in this article signifies.

• 1. Being bold, confident, and comfortable with oneself

  This too means that you know your strengths, your own weaknesses, and also your confidence level in facing the world around you. By taking off your jacket, you know that you are going all out for a victory by being yourself, and that you don’t have to rely on any other perks or other people’s teachings that formed our minds to only a certain direction.

  Break free from the mantle that others may have set for you (I’m speaking of the things that were set on negativity and dissatisfaction – the words that only hinders you from growing). Be comfortable with yourself.

• 2. Getting out of a mentality to catch-up on someone else’s reputation

  This is when you admired someone else’s abilities and achievements, or his or her family line have a great reputation that you want to follow in their footsteps. Then they gave you a jacket with a good intentions that they hope to see you grow. However, you might rely on that as a symbol of your future too much until maybe one day you lose hope that the reputation which the person had built up is hard for you to achieve.

  Trying to live in someone else’s reputation can be more of a barrier and weighs us down instead of getting us to grow at a comfortable rate.

  A story from the Bible describes this well. When young David volunteered to fight Goliath after days of stalemate between the two armies stretched to a prolonged period, King Saul willingly gave his armor to the young boy, in hopes that David can fight the battle and not get hurt.

  The armor only weighed David down and he eventually returned it to Saul before heading straight towards the battlefield.

  David won. He was able to maneuver better as he was confident of his own abilities and in the things that he was equipped with.

• 3. Live with new revelations and self-affirmations

  I believe that life is an ever growing story of individuals who go on from glory to glory. We will have revelations and self affirmations received during different seasons of our walk.
  Are we able to move on from point A – I mean revelation A – to point B?

  Probably we may have bought a certain suit to mark a milestone of an achievement in one point of time. But three years down the road, we are still wearing that same jacket as it reminds us of how we had won a challenge back then.

  We ought to have new revelations in our lives, knowing what is going on in the world today, and also to be in tuned with the flow in the realm of the infinite – that we can grow to another level of victory and faith.

• 4. Dare to express yourself with colors and be aesthetically inclined

  There are more cool looking shirts and tops that are available on the market today. Rather than wearing the same colored shirt beneath the jacket, go on and express yourself with different range of clothings and colors with great designs!

  Be aesthetically inclined. Be sharp in our dressing.

• 5. Life of new challenges and excellence

  This act of taking off the jacket also shows that you are daring to try out new things and go on out for excellence! There’s more to life than being behind the desk and in the four walls of the office and class.

  If you find yourself wearing a jacket and glued to the chair for too much of your time, dare to do something different. Leave that additional weight on your shoulders behind, and go on out to take on new roles or live a more vibrant lifestyle!

  There’s always volunteer work available around, you too can be more philanthropic and be a generous giver, or you may apply for night classes, get a new degree, learn stuffs online, play a new sport (or be more active in a sport that you were once good in), go paint, go write, go speak… and take this opportunity to build people up!

While those examples are written to show what that term signifies, let’s go on and read more on what has this got to do with leadership.

What has taking off the jacket got to do with leadership?

There’s quite a few actually. Here are 3 quick and short points that you can learn about in regards to leadership.

• 1. Growth comes when leaders take the first step forward

  It’s always a great assurance to know that leaders take the lead and when we do so, we are confident of getting things done. Taking the jacket off here is too an act that leaders know they can afford to do as we know that if we will to perspire while doing the work, we sure could use a little less weight off our bodies and that means leaving the jacket behind.

  Growth will definitely come as leaders get the foundations set up for the rest of the team to work and participate together.

• 2. Enlightened leaders know that it is not the coat that gives them authority

  Leaders know that faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. They base their authority that they have not on the coat itself, but it is in the faith that they have.

  Another example from the Bible would be how David when he had became king, went on to remove his robes and danced before his God in private (Ref: 2 Samuel 6).

• 3. Leaders celebrate

  Leaders should too know how to celebrate! While participating in non-work related and outdoor activities such as a carnival, or an outing to a beach, or even to a game of paintball, can you imagine someone coming to the event over dressed for the occasion? They will stand out in a weird way.

  Loosen up. Not always one have to be seen in public in their most glamorous state.

I am sure that there are more reasons you can think of to put into this list. Feel free to add them in the comments section. I would stop at three for now in this article.

Take your jacket off now…

Thats right. Time to take off that jacket. Roll up your sleeves and start taking the lead and work towards building one another up!

Thought of any more items to add into the above list? Or you have any other ideas that you want to discuss about on this topic, of course, feel free to add them into the comments area. Taking off the jacket also means a move to start participating in stuffs around us more.

I’m sure you know of people who will relate to this article well. Share it to them and to your friends too! Let’s lighten up the burden of past experiences, reputation, revelations, and start to grow with confidence and having the self assurance from today.

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