Understanding human excellence – let’s begin with ABC!

One of the most important guiding principles that I follow is that to be a good professional one first needs to be a better human being. My writings with the Mindful Musings have always been around self empowerment and professional development woven together to show the importance of this principle.

Humbled by the responses that I have been receiving from people far and wide requesting about different topics of one of the frequent requests have been around qualities of human excellence – The good qualities that one can imbibe in them reflect in their nature. So no matter who you are or what your designation and level of hierarchy reads, the way you behave determines the true qualities that you possess. 

Here are the three things that reflect the true nature of self empowerment: Attitude, Behavior and Commitment to purpose.

Attitude: Attitude is a settled way of thinking or feeling about someone or something that is reflected in one’s behavior. Even though attitude is mistakenly given an antagonistic meaning by some, the real meaning of attitude is a tendency or orientation especially of the mind that is reflected through actions. So positivity, negativity, confusion, truculence etc, are all determined by one’s attitude – the way one thinks and feels. In leadership roles attitude plays as important role because this defines the mindset of the person across all kinds of situations. Every day may not be a good day, but how one thinks, acts or feels even through the uncertain times determines growth mindset. “The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude” – Oprah Winfrey.

The situations in a day may not be within ones control. But the consequences of how one handles it is something that is influenced by their attitude. A leader is not one who does not go through a bad day or situation- A leader is one who does not let that bad and negative situation overpower them or take control of their thoughts or actions. So, good qualities that contribute to human excellence is not displayed when a person is going through sunshine. It is the rainy days and the cloudy skies that will show the true colors of one’s qualities. Whether it is a household or an organization, it is the attitude of the members that determines the environment and culture.  So no matter how good one may seem or behave in the good times, it is the way you handle cloudy days and how you behave in difficult situations that can reveal everything about you. That is why one of the primary preferred qualities that employers seek in their workforce that deals with dynamic situations is the “ability to work under pressure” – because it is under pressure that your true mettle is revealed.

Behavior- One of the most important determinants of one’s true nature is behavior -how one behaves and makes others around them feel. Consistency of behavior, mindsets and actions are critical and essential qualities that leads to personal and professional excellence. There are some personalities that easily get manipulated by others, or whose behavior can be influenced easily by things in the environment. No matter how skilled one is, and no matter how important designation one may hold, if they allow external variables to manipulate or control their attitude and hamper behavior, the first thing that they display is a poor leadership trait. Hence, it is commonly said that bosses are many, leaders are few. . Whether at home or the workplace, mindsets and behaviors play a very crucial role, which determines the culture and environment. Trust, respect, support, collaboration, communication- all these are reflective actions and work best when mutually reciprocated. So while there are multiple things in a work environment that we cannot deny that may exist to contribute to toxic cultures- jealousy, politics, envy, competition, partiality, favoritism, how we let it affect us and our mindsets and behaviors will determine our true nature and and ultimately what we experience in life.

Behavior and actions are manifestations of one’s real nature and personality. “But behavior in the human being is sometimes a defense, a way of concealing motives and thoughts, as language can be a way of hiding your thoughts and preventing communications”. – Abraham Maslow.   Hence, the integrity of a person plays an important role in how they behave. It is very obvious that people put up the most expected behaviors when observed by others. However, how one thinks, acts and behaves when not being observed reflect their real nature. Sometimes one bad action and behavior can damage the reputation that one took many years to build. Hence no matter how best one may appear, testing times reveal the true nature of one’s actual mindset and behavior. Hence if one truly wants to empower oneself, the improvement has to come from within and not just revealed as a surface trait.

Commitment to purpose: Believe in what you do, and do what you believe in.  Most often people talk about success and failure - whether we are growing or learning from it. But the truth is that not all days are determined by clear clarifying results of success and failure. There are grey days when you just have to work, stay focused and committed to your goals, without any parameter to decide whether it is a success or failure. A lot of start-ups often experience the phase when all you are doing is work, without any clear definite visible results. These phases have the compelling ability to sway away many people to believe that the battle is lost or they are just wasting time. But just like it takes time for a tree to grow or a flower to bloom, it is the ability to stay focused and committed to purpose that defines success from failure. One of the prime abilities of a growth oriented person is hence to stay committed to the purpose and be able to keep those around you motivated and inspired to go through this lull phase with their actions aligned with the larger goals. 

The sudden pandemic disrupted our lives, economies and lifestyles, everything changed almost overnight. And while we have noticed extreme upheavals in and around us, how some people still managed to find ways to stay afloat despite the times being so unfavorable for the world as whole shows their ability to stay committed to purpose. So while few complained and cribbed about lives changing, others utilized this opportunity to engage in hobbies, learn something new, spend time to relax and rejuvenate, help detox their mind, or start something new aligned to the larger purpose. Your path maybe altered, but if you are aware and committed to your purpose, you will find new ways to reach your goals.  “The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor” – Vince Lombardi.  

 Change as we know is the only constant thing. A pandemic has sufficiently taught us that life can get unpredictable almost overnight. So how is it that some deal with these changes well, while others struggle to stay afloat? The answer is in the human qualities that these people possess. And if we reflect into the nature, among the various qualities and traits that we can notice, the ABCs will emerge as the broad qualities which define their experience and true qualities. 

:: by Shrabonee Paul::