Aniyia and I have been talking a lot about what’s next for me. I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching, which is part of my process. She asked me to go through this exercise to examine what my values are and why. From this huge list of words, she had me narrow it down to 5. I have more than 5 values. But it was an interesting exercise, and I figured I’d share what came out of it for posterity.
Empathy
If I'm going to have impact on people, it has to come with empathy. Empathy is the only way we can relate to each other without causing damage. Empathy helps guide us and temper our ambitions so we don't become part of the problems we see in the world.
Integrity
Similar to empathy, integrity is a guide for anyone who wants to have impact on other people. Integrity is what ensures you don't succumb to the many pressures and negative incentives that seek pull us down into the mud. Our society can be much more positive if we move with integrity. If we can teach people to expect integrity from others, we can build a society based on mutual trust. Each of us can do our part to create that world.
Learning
Learning is the basic thing that gives me fulfillment in a life full of hardships and uncertainty. My brain is always working. And I don't take that for granted. I need to feed my brain with new learning in order to feel contented. I'm always yearning to understand more and more of the world around me. It's how I seek to make sense of things. It gives me comfort to know that answers are out there for me to seek.
Reflection
As we move through the world learning and having an impact on others, it's critical that we are able to reflect on our experiences and how they shape us. We can't develop the empathy we need if we don't take time to reflect and internalize life's lessons. I believe that reflection is more important than learning when it comes to growth. Learning without reflection can often lead us astray.
Abundance
As the world gets bigger and more complicated, with more and more humans in it, we have to move away from scarcity as an organizing principle for society. I believe focusing on abundance as a guiding principle is the way humanity can carry forward in to the future without reaching its limits. I want to be a part of finding ways to help more and more people experience abundance in various parts of their lives.