Just a word to live by…………

PRIDE.

As I walk around the city, going about my life, whether I’m off to work, going to the gym or just out for the day/night, I notice a lot of people, from all walks of life and I ask myself, “would they be proud of how they choose to present themselves to the world?”

I then have to ask myself the same thing. Do I have pride in how I present myself to the world? This is not just my outwards appearance, but the way i act, the way I interact with colleagues and strangers I meet. On most days I’m happy to say that I can be, I obviously have days or interactions I’m not so happy with, we all do, but if I can walk away and identify the ways in which I could do it better in the future than I can take that as a lesson learnt.

I wrote the word PRIDE one day and elaborated on it, thinking of a simple way to break down my behaviors, appearance and interactions so I had a somewhat measurable way of living up to the expectations I set myself. As outlined below.

Presentation: Take pride in the what how you present yourself to the world. This doesn’t mean wearing or buying the most expensive cloths, but a combination of physical fitness, dress and bearing and how you interact with others.

Reliability: Be reliable, arrive on time, if you say you’ll do something, then do it, leave no doubt in peoples mind that when you say you’ll be somewhere or do something, that’s a guarantee it’ll be done. This doesn’t mean saying yes to everything, it means choosing what’s important and following through.

Individuality: Be an individual. Don’t follow the leader, bring your own personality to everything you do. This doesn’t mean going out of your way to be weird or odd, but don’t let the world stifle you as an individual.

Determination: See things through, know that the end result will be more rewarding than the pain experienced through the process. Unforeseen distractions from the goal are only temporary inconveniences that can be worked through.

Educated: Not just yourself but others. Absorb as much knowledge as possible, always work to see both sides of the story. Continually educate yourself and pass on knowledge when appropriate. Don’t be preachy, people must find their own path, but offer knowledge for people who wish to listen.

Something to think about.

Dave