A weekly thought for leaders with the courage to introspect.ย
What is a good person?
Walter asked me that question.
โHans, what actually is a good person?โ
Wellโฆ
Good question.
What is that: a good person?
Is that someone who doesn't steal? Doesn't lie? Doesn't destroy anything?
Is that someone who is good to his family? His business? To the world?
Just say it.
And how good can you actually be if you are not Jesus or Buddha?
What I do know, and I'm pretty sure of it, is this:
A good person should not only be thought or found.
A good person must do what you do.
Not in theory. Not in words. Not with beautiful intentions.
But in practice. In everyday life.
In your choices. In your actions.
So you can practice that.
Being a good person is behavior. It is a skill. Something you can teach yourself.
Being bad, really bad, is usually deeper. That requires damage. Trauma. A brain that has grown to pieces. Or sheer bad luck in your DNA.
But being good is a choice.
Every day again.
A character is not something you have.
A character is something you form.
You nourish certain qualities of yourself.
And you let others wither.
Are you greedy or moderate?
Are you brave or evasive?
Are you helpful or self-centered?
The great thing is: you can choose what you want to become better at.
I said this to Walter:
There are two qualities that, in my view, form the core of a good person.
Two things you can train. That you can teach yourself.
1. Courage.
The courage to face life.
To bear adversity.
To not run away.
To endure pain.
To start over and over again.
Courage is not the absence of fear.
Courage is continuing despite fear.
2. Moderation.
Moderation in everything.
Moderation in eating. In buying. In owning.
Moderation in talking. In judging. In talking after.
Moderation in opinions. In participating. In wanting to be right.
Intemperance is not a human right.
Who wants to have everything. Wants to say everything. Wants to do everything.
โฆwho ultimately loses himself.
What is a good person?
A good person is someone who understands his or her unique place in life.
And who lives by it.
With courage.
And with moderation.
Not perfect.
Well, consciously.
I try to do that every day.
And you?
—
The space between the words is where insight arises.
Until next week when our thoughts touch again.
Hans Ruinemans
The Boardroom Monk โฏ๏ธ