My Driving Principles

The other day, I was thinking of things I heard or read, that left a lasting impression on me and changed how I approached life. In most cases, I remember when I heard or read them, who said it or where it was written, and in some cases, why it had an impression on me.

1. Pride comes before a fall. Aka, don't be a narcissist.
2. We don't deserve all the credit for our successes, nor all the blame for our failures. So judge kindly.
3. Doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results is tantamount to insanity.
4. Patience is godliness.
5. The difference between a job done well and a shoddy job is often a only little extra time, effort, and care.
6. The wise resist pleasure while the fool become its slave. Without moderation the greatest pleasures fade.
7. Success comes to those who do what they must, even if they don't feel like doing it. Every single day.
8. You never forget what you learn by teaching others.
9. Always learn from your mistakes, but try as much to learn from that of others.
10. To live is to learn every single day.
11. You can't always repay kindness, but pay it forward to someone else.
12. Being able to accommodate someone's imperfection and not making them feel bad about it is a great virtue. (I can't always practice this in my inner circle and this has been the most challenging principle for me.)

There might be a few others, but these have pretty much the principles that have defined and shaped how I think. In most respects, I am a work-in-progress in the light of these principles - but they give me direction.