Finding Your Principles and Purpose
When we know what they are, it shapes our behavior
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“What do we live for, if not to make life less difficult for others?” — George Eliot, 1871
So much of leadership is simply about thinking of other people. Life is about thinking of other people.
In the previous entry, I wrote:
By spreading joy and happiness to others, we increase our own joy.
Of course, the joy we get from serving the needs of other people isn’t the motivating factor — it’s the wonderful side effect.
This is one of the reasons I’ve taken on more coaching clients: not only am I visibly helping them change and grow, but I derive immense satisfaction from seeing them learn.
When they express what’s important to them — not only in the sense of their goals, but what their values and principles are — it becomes easier to help them embrace behaviors that reflect that.
I recently came across a list of 25 principles that take into account many of these aspects and that could easily be used as a guide for leadership (and life) behaviors:
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