Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)
"Act as if everything depended on you; trust as if everything depended on
God."
Back to Basics
– Know ourselves, Listen.
Nations,
organisations, businesses, and individuals must stop from time to time and
reflect. We must cultivate habits of on-going reflection and self-evaluation.
When we
reflect, we must ask questions both from our head and our heart. Intelligence
alone is insufficient, we must also use wisdom. Intelligence may give us the
facts, but wisdom helps us find meaning. Ignatius of Loyola advocated self-evaluation
to achieve one’s higher goals in life.
There are two
good ways of doing this. One is listening to feedback; it is through feedback
that we discover our strengths. Two; practice deliberate self-doubt. Just in
case we are wrong. Just in case we are blind to something that is important.
When we listen
to feedback and practice self-doubt we discover new roads to our journey, new
avenues for our discovery, and new strengths for our triumphs. If we refuse to
listen and practise self-doubt, we are too arrogant for our own good. And this
arrogance will be the main cause of our downfall. We are not suggesting that we
ignore our weaknesses. Bad habits that stop us from performing must be cured.
But, it is through focusing on our strengths that will give maximum impact.
Reflections
can help us know where we are. When we know where we are, we can then move
forward. In reflection we can find out what we are doing or failing to do that
stops us from achieving our potentials.
In moving
forward, we must work from our strengths. One can perform only from strength.
We must spend time identifying our core abilities, our forte. We must put
ourselves where our strength can produce results.
We must find
the time to ask;
What are our
strengths as a nation? Are we performing from our strengths? Is our strength
Unity in diversity? What are the bad habits that hinder our performance? Are we
a nation of complainers and whiners? What about our organisations? What about
our businesses? What about us as individuals?
This Christmas
Holiday let us reflect and find some answers. But to get to the answers, we
must be willing to listen. We must be willing to practise deliberate self-doubt.
At zubedy, our
programs draw strength from shared values and traditions. We believe that at
heart, all Malaysians want good things for themselves and for their brother and
sister Malaysians, simply because our nation cannot prosper as a whole if some
of us are left behind.
Let us be
first and foremost Malaysians.
Let us add
value,
Have A
Meaningful Christmas.
I chose today as a day of reflection too.
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