How context can make
or break us…
There are so many cliches that come to mind when I think
about how we live our lives. However, when I think of context, an old Bushido
saying comes into the forefront of my mind “We should never obsess about if we
are going to die, but instead focus on how we live as those whom live an
honorable life will always die a glorious death.” Whilst meant for the warrior
elite of Japan’s Samurai, the wisdom it holds has value and meaning for us all!
If nothing else in our time here, living an honourable life is a context for
all things great! Even in failure, it’s a respective premise for living and
without that context, any ‘grand’ content is meaningless.
I have come to conclude that in business as in life,
if we want to have an honourable existence, we should at least learn from or
adopt in part or in full the Samurai’s code for defining honourable living.
Rectitude (義): Courage (勇氣): Benevolence (仁): Respect (禮 ): Honesty (誠) : Honour (名誉): Loyalty (忠義)
Rectitude
- A morally correct method of thinking otherwise known also as righteousness
Courage - Courage to do
the right thing. It’s a commitment to the world to be inherently good through
ones intent and resulting actions
Benevolence
- Kindness and well meaning to others
Respect - Respect for
oneself as much as for others. Even in conflict, respecting one’s enemies
existence in this world is required for honourable living
Honour - Holding
oneself in high esteem and never deviating from morally correct intent or a
morally correct course of action
Loyalty - Holding true
to one’s feeling of strong support for one’s leaders, family friends and
society to which one is loyal to
To me, this is an arguably complete set of attributes
that defines honourable living and is transposable into any area life with a
degree of accuracy that impresses. So, if we can set our life on a road that embraces
this context, what are benefits and pitfalls:
Benefits:
Like attracts like
- Those who live an honourable life have a lighter spring in their step through
the good times and a look of resilient character in the bad times. As the old
saying goes “When we surround ourselves with like minded people, we can do
great things”
Stress weight
- The weight of anything we feel living an honourable life even in abstract
failure is far outweighed by the mounting weight of dishonourable living where
betrayals, deception, immoral and/or criminal actions of all kinds take a toll
on body and mind
Clean Heart
- If we are to engage life and liberty in the pursuit of happiness,
living an honourable life allows us a clean heart and a good context to be
happy. There is no point having all the gold in China if all we can feel is the
prickly thorns of bad behaviour we set ourselves up in.
Positive Impact -
In giving and not taking, we use our abilities, our courage and commitment to
contribute to this world in a sustainable manner where we leave a positive
imprint as a legacy for others to benefit from. They in turn are inspired to do
right by others and the cycle of good intent to positive outcomes continues.
Giver Taker Mentality - Ever
have a favour done for you and be asked nothing in return? Well if you are
“that guy” and want to positively impact somebody else’s life in a similar
manner then there are those who will admire you for it (givers) and those who
will target you because of it (takers). Takers perceive givers to be weak and
thus target them in an exploitative manner.
Short Term Loss - There
is no doubt in my mind that doing the right thing can bring a downside that
should not be overlooked. “Learned helplessness” is a term coined to capture
the feeling of justification in business for allowing others to do the wrong
thing because of their standing, associations or some other criterion that can
come back to hit the observer where it hurts causing short term loss.
Troubleshooting Tip:
Networking is a great way to make a coalition of like minded people who look
after one another. Be careful to make your network in your likeness so you have
like minded people around you. If you become targeted, their support could
limit your losses and prevent untold suffering on your part. A single twig
breaks easy in the wind, whereas many twigs together bend but never break in the
wildest of storms that rip the mighty oak tree from the ground.
Betrayal - As you become
who you want to be, there will always be people in business and in life looking
to profit from, take advantage of and/or abuse your good nature. The most
dangerous of these are those who can deceive you into thinking they are good
folk when they are really targeting you to exploit you. Know your enemies so
you can understand your friends and why they are by your side. In doing so, you
limit your exposure to betrayal.
It is up to us to take responsibility for our lives,
our actions and our mistakes as much as our successes. When we are old and grey
in our chairs many years from now, wouldn’t it be nice to look back knowing you
not only made a good life for yourself but you made a positive impact on the
world by being true to yourself and how you chose to live! I know I’m on board,
are you? Leave a comment with your opinion…
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