Mark Twain said it beautifully: It’s never wrong to do the right thing.
Personal authority does not come from unkept promises but rather from truthful actions and deeds with decent and fair purposes.
How one lives their life and impacts upon the common good separates the chaff from the wheat. So much good in life has been orphaned because we humans all too often fail to do the right thing; too often, we are short in action yet long on opinion.
This is where the matter of truth or, if you like, value comes in. We are all limited or freed by the nature and extent of our knowledge as well as the environment that surrounds us.
It follows then that it is important not to assume that one’s own perspective supersedes the knowledge and values of others.
Our cultures, and national and personal histories, will never be a unifying bonding agent but kindness gives us the right to call ourselves “humankind.” And we are faced with dramatic change like never before seen by this living generation. Meaningful change is fundamental to our very existence.
Undergoing tremendous change is often an unavoidable necessity. Change usually brings degrees of fear. Dread of the unknown, mostly.
But we do have choices. We can always opt to do the right things in a manner that we can live with, not with blind or foolish courage, but rather, with valor. A coeur vaillant rien d’impossible is a much-loved French proverb—it suggests that with valor, nothing is impossible. Valor is courage with care and responsibility; a steadfastness that faces truths and overcomes with care and conscience. When one witnesses such character, it truly is a thing to behold, especially as the most important things in life that need to be done are almost always the most difficult.
Embracing and being thoughtful, whilst at the same time being resolute and getting things done properly for the eventual common good, is a far better alternative than abject complacency or surrender.
It is, to my mind, far better to live the absolutes of a life well and play the game of business and life successfully by being ever true to one’s persona and authority, giving credence to the inherent power that lives within us all.
It is a careful yet progressive change that holds out the promise of what it means to belong to humankind—and hopefully, the value that it brings.
Source: psychologytoday.com ~ By: Alexei Orlov ~ Image: Canva Pro