30 November 2010 Values Essay Brutal Honesty Ok, so perhaps “brutal” is too…brutal of a term, but I would say I subscribe to a certain (high) level of directness in dealing with others, the truth and all potential outcomes. In my years of life, be them few, I’ve found it always pays to be honest upfront. It not only prevents miscommunication, but also helps to establish a strong foundation of trust between you and the other party (parties). In adopting this core value, I operate in a fashion not much unlike that of which Aristotle promotes, in the sense that I consider the situation at hand before I make a decision regarding the degree to which I must be honest. So, yes, though it may be brutal in nature when implemented, my straightforward honesty need not be misconstrued with crassness, disregard for others’ feelings or imperviousness to their sensitivities. I’ve found time after time that most people view direct honesty as refreshing, insightful and useful. I would agree. What’s the point of skirting around the bush, avoiding eye contact or just downright falsifying opinion? There is no point; it only leads to heightened confusion further down the road. Overall, the pros outweigh the cons. Loyalty to Professional Pursuits: Ambition I am a highly devoted student. I am a student first and foremost. School is my present purpose in life, and that purpose lends itself to further and greater achievement outside of academia, in the professional realm. The commitment I give to school will transfer over to whatever job I land out of school. Part of pursuing ambition stems directly from one’s ability to self-motivate, selfdiscipline and continuously maintain a positive outlook of the world (a task that often proves harder than would be expected). Ambition has deep roots in the ability to visualize and imagine one’s future given nothing but the current environment, long-term goals and an overwhelming sense of forward movement. A Balanced Lifestyle This value ties directly in with the previous two. A drive for ambition and commitment to telling the truth involves maintaining a fast-pace, driven momentum that lends itself to peaks of core performance, and valleys of minimal output, i.e. extreme exhaustion. That being said, I make a point to include less mentally rigorous pursuits in my routine. From shooting the breeze with friends to simply enjoying a fiction read, I place great value on making time for me, my friends and my family so that I don’t burn myself out achieving the goals I’ve set. It’s important to realize that focusing on securing the future often leaves little room for living in the moment and enjoying the present.
I can’t live for the future, though, and thus, need to find activities to which to commit my time and effort that do not focus on life 10 years down the road, but rather the here and now. Otherwise, life will pass me by, and that seems worse than not achieving the goals I have in place. As you can see, my core values operate in unison with one another. No one value is mutually exclusive, and in order for each to maintain its position as a core life value, I must relate to the other two values, taking each into consideration before applying its own principles.