Chadwick Boseman Raised His Own Bar!
It was heart-wrenching to hear about Chadwick Boseman’s death this past week. He is remembered as the noble “KING” of Wakanda and as one who was really able to embody the characters that he played - Jackie Robinson, James Brown, Thurgood Marshall and his biggest role, King T’Challa of Wakanda. Chadwick Boseman was unique in his ability to fully embody these characters with dignity and resolve, but what I appreciate most about him, is his ability to raise his own bar as a regular daily human being and live for his purpose.
In an industry where we see people of color in stereotypical roles, Chadwick Boseman chose to say no to offers to play the boxed in roles and enjoy smaller roles until he got the ones he felt in integrity to play. When he received the VMA’s Super Hero Award, he humbly called to the stage, James Shawn Jr., a young man who fought off a gun-man and gave him the award to take home. Chadwick called James Shawn Jr. the true super hero and stepped back and gave him the stage. He spent countless hours in hospitals cheering and encouraging kids with cancer as he privately fought his own battle with colon cancer. Chadwick Boseman knew his “Why” and worked to continually raise his own bar.
What does raising your own bar mean?
We find our bar when we meditate and focus - it is that balance between our static habits and our desire to evolve. Raising our bar requires the tools to identify how to change those habits in the direction of one’s desired growth. Our bar comes from knowing our big WHY. When you are conscious and aware of your essence nature and grounded in your own Being, you know your why and you are spacious in your own relationship with life and you bring value to others. Second, you commit to continually raise the bar because you are connected to your essence and your desire to orient yourself to growth and to thrive. Our essense wants to evolve and raising our bar requires that and we nurture our impulse to evolve continually.
There are three ways to raise our bar:
Know your Why: What is your Why? What is your burning desire? Do you have an anchor statement that helps you remember your why? Knowing and understanding your why and understanding how it’s connected to your essence is the first key.
Live in Integrity with your Why: Take time to understand your integrity gaps. Where are you out of integrity with your why? Are you living in integrity in all areas of your life even when in the midst of challenge and difficulty? Are your daily habits and commitments keeping you in alignment with your big Why? Are you in integrity with your physical body, nutrition, relationships, money and profession? What we do now compounds what happens later so how do you want to feel later? How are you nourishing your life force?
Get Support : Raising our own bar is challenging because it is a continuing process of integration. There is no end game because our ground of being wants to shift into deeper levels. Continuing to integrate is easier and faster when we surround ourselves with like minded people and mentors who can support our growth. Chadwick Boseman was a living legend who showed us all how to be our own everyday super hero by living in integrity with his purpose and his essence.