Longer than normal post…
A principle is a principle and in no case can it be watered down because of our incapacity to live it in practice. – Mahatma Gandhi
From the other side of the world yesterday in response to this post.
Blog comment:
“Sounds very similar to counseling. There are those who want to “fix” other’s “problems” and there are those who want to teach others skills to lead a fulfilling life.
On the approach/avoidance continuum, there are those who avoid problems or failures and there are those that approach success and new situations. Work to win versus work to avoid losing.
You are teaching the principles needed to approach world-class organizational culture rather than fixing the problems to avoid them in the future, right? Approach success rather than avoid losing?”
My response:
“Greetings from the other side of the world. Yes, and…
In teaching irrefutable, foundational principles, problems start fixing themselves.
It’s as simple as modifying a sedentary, eat-whatever-i-want lifestyle. Replacing a poor diet with a healthier one. It’s transforming from inactive to consistently active. From these two intentional choices, physical wellness will slowly begin to happen as a result.
Thank you for commenting. You actually reinforced something that i needed to hear today.”
Gandhi went on to say:
“We have to strive to achieve it, and the striving should be continuous, deliberate and hard.”
Note: an additional email response to the conversation from Stephanie…
“It’s interesting because there is a major difference in the amount of effort exerted depending on the perspective taken. A client wanting to fix problems, an athlete not wanting to come in last, or a student wanting to not fail a course looks a lot different from a client wanting to gain control of his/her life, an athlete wanting to win, or a student wanting to put his/her best work forward. Same goes for the counselor, coach, or educator (all of these are the exact same role in my opinion). There is a difference in energy expended when you work to teach someone how (s)he can be his/her best self every day versus how (s)he can avoid being his/her worst self every day. It seems like one of the greatest challenges is finding a cohesive match to work with.
Thanks for the reply! Enjoy track and field trials as well!”
Thank you Stephanie Young for exposing me to the avoidance/approach continuum concept.
More Gandhi quotes.
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On April Fool’s Day 2009, jeff noel began writing five daily, differently-themed blogs (on five different sites). It was to be a 100-day self-imposed “writer’s bootcamp”, in preparation for writing his first book. He hasn’t missed a single day since.
