I was discussing with someone earlier this week who had observed that an organisation that once was enterprising and open to connecting up with foreign visitors appeared to be losing its confidence to do so.
He said the organisation had just turned down a request to meet foreign visitors as “everyone is too busy”, and wondered why the organisation’s international relations department could not accommodate the meeting request.
I ventured the view that it could be because the people in the department did not feel confident enough to speak and to address questions that might be raised.
Perhaps the leaders in the organisation were not honouring their people by seeking to help them be the best they could be. Instead, the leaders saw their people as “pawns” to move around and “slaves” to do their will.
This encounter reminded me that we all need to offer honour not just to our leaders, but also to our colleagues, and to our subordinates, as well as our family members and friends.
Most importantly, we need to honour ourselves by taking self responsibility and doing all that we can be to the best that we can be so that we can add to the well-being of the lives to all around us.
We can start by reminding ourselves to always honour our word and honour each other. This is how to build up the trust, ability, and confidence of those in our lives, and by doing so, we enhance the total capacity, capability, and well-being of our families, our communities, our organizations, our society, and our nation.
As Singapore is a “little red dot” on a huge global map, we must never forget that no one owes us a living and that no one else is responsible for our security.
The drive to be exceptional in the way we think is not an option; it is destiny for Singapore. And it is our destiny for each of us to be individual red dots who:
- Honour our word to establish a reputation for being trustworthy and reliable
- Honour each other by always thinking about the well-being and success of our society
- Honour ourselves by
- Taking responsibility for our lives and our dreams
- Having a relentless drive for excellence
- Desiring to be the best that we can be in everything we do
- Thinking through things for ourselves and not follow the herd blindly
- Having the courage to try new things
- Having the discernment to cut losses when things do not work out
- Setting goals which are stretch but achievable with effort and imagination.
Honour is within us – it is a muscle that goes stronger if we choose to exercise it, but loses its functionality if we choose not to work it.
There is much to look forward to in the future unfolding before us, but it is a future to be shaped and to be gained by honouring the goodness of the human spirit for the well-being of the nation.
The survival, well-being, and success of our nations rests with being a people of honour, and cultivating children who learn, grow, and live with honour.
At the beginning of this New Year of 2016, we would like to wish everyone a year filled with much happiness, good health, and fruitful labour! May you find satisfaction and fulfilment in all your endeavours!