News and Views
Self Esteem
How do you arm yourself to succeed in life? Do well in school? Reduce stress? Attain your goals?
The answer is found in having good self-esteem. Self-esteem is made up of several key ingredients. 4 of which are Honor, Discipline, Respect and Courage.
Honor
Honor implies honesty. It is a high regard for what is right and due. Honesty starts with you and extends to others. Something that is amiss in society. It is easier to tell someone what he or she wants to hear versus what they need to hear. Someone with honor and integrity will use good judgment instead of going with what is popular or politically correct.
Honesty comes from the heart without thought. It is doing the right thing without thoughts of future rewards or services.
There is a famous quote which says, “Tell the truth, It’s easier to remember.” That pretty much sums that up.
Discipline
Discipline is defined as diligent training that produces orderliness. It is the system of rules you follow that help achieve the successful outcome.
Why do police and military units train continuously on basics even after their initial training? What is it that forces the losing football team to keep practicing and training even without the sight of rewards on the horizon? It is Discipline. Discipline is that obedience that forces you to keep trying, training and practicing to succeed.
Everyone knows the quote, “Practice makes perfect.” However, this thinking is flawed. How about, ”Perfect Practice makes perfect?” Again this isn’t quite right either. It should be, ”Perfect practice makes you better.”
Respect
Whatever happened to the word “respect”. It seems to have disappeared from our society. It has been replaced in a negative form: “Disrespect”. “Nobody’s gonna disrespect me!” “I don’t take no disrespect from nobody!” “Disrespect me and somebody’s gonna pay!”
Instead of respect, we tend to blame. We blame today’s youth violence on music, the movies, schools society and even parents. You can’t blame parents entirely. Though it would seem they would be in the most advantageous position to notice what is going on and start the process of fixing what is wrong.
Blaming is a pointless exercise. As for anyone that blames society, what punishment would you lay down on society for it’s part?
Let’s analyze the opportunities rather than blaming everyone else. We can start with the word “respect”.
To respect another means to pay attention. It means when someone is different, we make an effort to understand or at least tolerate them without satisfying our primal instinct to categorize them and put them in their place. To respect means giving credence to someone’s expressions of desperation, to pay attention when someone cries out for help, even if that cry is masked in the insanity of violence.
Someone who has respect for him or herself will do his/her best to bring honor to himself/herself, friends, and family.
Courage
Bravery and boldness are key factors in courage. Courage allows you to try things when the outcome is unclear. The risks are compared against probable outcomes and courage forces the initial move.
Courage gives you the confidence to go beyond your comfort zone. It allows you to do more than your present capacity says you can do and raise the imaginary bar known as your potential to new and loftier heights.
Courage also allows for the possibility of failure as well. The main point is that you learn from your mistakes and actively pursue higher standards.
These 4 ingredients of Honor, Discipline, Respect and Courage will boost your Self Esteem and free you to achieve greatness.
Sensei Hal Pierce of the Tao
President - Defensive Solutions
|
