My core values listed on the concept map are very dear to me
and I try to incorporate them into my daily life. As a result, they definitely directly affect
how and the outcomes of my decisions. My
values of serving your country, equality for all, and my reputation are very
important to me and a I strive to ensure I do not violate them for any reason.
First, my value of serving your country is something I think
that most Americans would do well to not forget. Too often people in this country take for
granted the opportunity that is present in this place and how blessed we are to
live here. As a result, I strongly feel
that we should in some way give back to our country. At the very least, I think people shouldn’t
have a problem paying taxes when it goes to support the multitude of things the
government provides to us. As a result,
I made the biggest career choice of my life when I joined the military, and I
encourage many to do the same. With that
being said, it doesn’t have to be just in the military – going out and doing
community service helps out your country and makes you feel like you did
something for reasons other than it benefiting you. With that being said, I also can’t stand
people that expect the government to provide things for them or people that “hate”
our country. I will go out of my way to
avoid people like this, going to extreme measures if necessary. This value is very protected however if came
down to my country or my family, I’d choose my family 9 times out of 10.
My next value is also incredibly important to me. I believe that everyone is equal in this
world and that there should be no benefits granted to any one person because of
their race/creed/religion/sexual preference/gender, etc. While not everyone has the same capability of
others, everyone is entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness and no one has the right to remove this from them. While not explicitly in my thinking, I know
that it might be a “process” running in the background when I make decisions
involved with people and I know it has changed how I voted on more than one
occasion. Where/what you accomplish in
this life should be purely merit based, and I will push to ensure that anyone
above or below me understands where I stand on that principle.
Thirdly, my reputation is very important to me. More so than the other 2, this value is probably
present much more in my daily life than the other 2. When faced with a public (or even private
decision for that matter) decision, I will actively think about how others
might view this decision and how it might alter my reputation. While I don’t care if people agree or
disagree with the decision, as long as people can say that I made the decision
with a clear conscious and free of emotions/bias, I’ll be happy with the
outcome. I have been on the wrong end of
a decision that in my opinion was the result of someone being biased against me
– from then on I made sure that I would never place anyone in that
situation. This has its benefits in that
I look at other frames of reference/how others might view my decision however
some might say there is a big drawback of allowing how others might view a
decision sway me. As I said above, I don’t
care about whether or not it is a popular/unpopular decision, my reputation for
being a fair and logical thinker is what I am referring to, not my
popularity. Additionally, I strive to
keep my word – if I say I am going to do something, I will go to great extremes
to ensure I follow through. This often
means that I get a little over-burdened and my private life suffers. Luckily my wife understands how I am, even if
she gets a little frustrated with it at times.
No comments:
Post a Comment