Back in Jan 2012 I read 7 habits of highly effective people for the first time. inspired by the book, I wrote the following mission statement, and committed to visiting it daily:
I will not be arrogant
I will do as much as I can
I want to be someone people feel safe and inspired with. Safe, not dull. Safe to share ideas with, but not to diss with. Safe to begin thinking you can fly.
I will take special care to not manipulate people. I will lay my motives and intentions bare when asked, but not when I suspect I will be made use of. for this, I will give the widest berth. You will have one chance to bite me. I give that to you.
I will give credit where due.
I will defend those who are not around.
I will grow my knowledge of and participation in 'industry, commerce, and enterprise' because to do so is to honour and acknowledge those who have been in my life.
My stance on this statement did not stay static. I tired of its length, complained about its 'tend[ing] towards... servitude', and even expressed repulsion. I made my last edit in the 14th month and later moved on to other guiding systems.
I come to this point because a colleague tells me I am naive and ignorant of the trappings of this world. In the same space, another colleague agreed, and thought it was my upbringing that led to it. I struggled to express that being innocent is a choice. But 'nature/nurture?' is besides the point.
Rereading my original mission statement from 2012 made me realise how important the statement is to me -- I still try to keep the deal today in 2015 even after I've stopped referring to the statement. Those are actions I care about taking. I watch for arrogance and intention and keep things neutral when talking about deeds. What gets to me is that I have not been living the lines in a way that is sustainable, that does not support myself or the people around me. I seem to have lived them in a kind of theoretical mode, without consideration for practical issues.
And so I'd like to do no evil and be seen as strong for that. not weak.
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I like you, all of you. The you I've met, the you's that existed before I stepped into the picture and the you's that will come to be. I wish my presence to give you freedom to be who you want to be, not pressure to be some souped-up superhuman tireless and incapable of error. Your stories I want to hear, not judge.
