LIVING A GREAT LIFE PART H
CHANGE YOUR THINKING CHANGE YOUR LIFE
By Brian Tracy
CHAPTER 12: Living a Great Life
THE UNIVERSAL MAXIM
There is a wonderful test that you can give yourself on a regular basis to measure whether an act is good or bad, right or wrong. It is simple and you can use it throughout life. It is based on the Universal Maxim of the German philosopher Immanuel Kant, postulated more than 200 years ago. He said that you should live your life as though your every act were to become a universal law.
In other words, before you make a decision or take an action, imagine that everyone else was going to do exactly the same thing. Imagine that your decision was going to become a law for yourself and everyone else. This is the true test of whether your decision is a good one. It is the true test of a value or behavior. What kind of society would we have if everyone lived and behaved exactly the way you do?
Many of the problems in our society would not exist if this test were applied regularly in debates over public and social policy. Governments would be slower to approve certain actions in the areas of crime, education, welfare, and business if there was a likelihood that everyone would engage in those actions.
SET HIGH STANDARDS FOR YOURSELF
Here are some questions that you can ask yourself on a regular basis: First, ask yourself, “What kind of a world would my world be if everyone in it were just like me?” Just imagine! If everyone in the world were just like you ,would this be a better world in which to live? If everyone in the world were just like you, would this be a happier, healthier, more prosperous, and more harmonious world—or not?
Then, ask yourself, “What kind of a country would my country be if everyone in it were just like me?” What would this country be like if everybody in it behaved exactly the way you do? If everyone did the things that you do in your daily life and work, would this be a better country? Or are there some things that you might do differently?
The third question you can ask yourself is, “What kind of a company would my company be if everyone in it were just like me?” Look around you in your company and ask yourself if your company would be more prosperous and harmonious if everybody in it did their work exactly the way you do your work all day long.
The final question that you can ask yourself is, “What kind of a family would my family be if everyone in it was just like me?” If all the members of your family were just like you, would your family be a wonderful place to live and grow up in? Would everybody in your family thrive and be happier and more successful? Would you have the kind of family that other people would point to and admire and want to be like?
The fact is that no one can answer “yes” to all of these questions. Each of us is a work in progress. Each of us has a long way tO go. Each of us has a lot of room for improvement.
THE QUALITY OF COURAGE
In a review of 3,300 studies of leadership conducted by James McPherson over the years, he found a common denominator. It was the quality of courage. Winston Churchill once said, “Courage is rightly considered the foremost of the virtues, for upon it, all others depend.” You have heard it said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. The world is full of people with high and lofty goals and ambitions, but there are very few people who have the courage, the discipline, and the willpower to carry them out.
The best part of practicing the quality of courage is that each time you behave courageously, you feel stronger and better about yourself. Your self-esteem increases and you like yourself more. You feel more confident and competent. You feel happier inside. In contrast, each time you compromise yourself in the area of courage your self-esteem goes down. You feel weaker and less competent. You don’t like or respect yourself as much.
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