Personal Development and the Faithful Person

The following article is from the new book, Getting Personal: A Guide to Personal Development by author and speaker, John Patrick Hickey.  To read more from John Patrick Hickey or to get his books, training and book him to speak to your church, business or group, visit our website at www.johnpatrickhickey.com.  

When it comes to success in the workplace, home, and among friends and associates, there is no greater foundation to build upon than loyalty and faithfulness. The well-known author and speaker Zig Ziglar once said, “Profitability comes from loyalty, productivity, and having a character base from which to work.”

Faithful people are hard to find. A faithful employee is one that does the work they are given and a bit more besides. They do not use excuses like, “This is not my job”, or, “I am not being paid to do this”. A faithful employee is one that the employer knows will do their best all the time, every time. These are the people you want on your workforce because they are productive, you can trust them and they bring a high standard to the job that you will not find in someone who is just there for the paycheck.

I know that we no longer work one career all our lives. Studies show that most of us change our jobs about every five years. That is okay and there is nothing wrong with that, provided we are moving forward with each change. The thing to remember is that when you are faithful at your current job, you become more desirable for the next. Faithfulness is not measured by the time served, but by the quality of service you give.

There are few things more treasured in this world than a faithful friend. Knowing that we have a friend we can trust to be there when we need them and will listen to our secrets (and keep them secret) is a great thing. The loyalty of a friend is a quality that makes the success-minded person stand out from all the rest. Author Edwin Louis Cole said, “Confidentiality is a virtue of the loyal, as loyalty is the virtue of faithfulness.”

Faithfulness goes far deeper than being a good employee and trusted friend. It is part of the very fabric of our being. Faithfulness and loyalty are those qualities that you have or do not have. You cannot be faithful in one area and unfaithful in another. It is who you are and is revealed in how you respond in every area in life.

As with all human qualities, those who lack in faithfulness can develop the characteristic if they choose. We must always remember that the power of choice is greater than the power of habit. In many of life’s circumstances, people will behave in certain ways due to habit. They do not think about their responses: they just do what they know to do. Choice is the ability to think about what we are doing before we do it. It is the ability to control our responses rather than allowing our responses to control us. Right choices and right behavior are deliberate actions.

To discover how you can achieve the dream you have believed was impossible for too long, read Getting Personal: A Guide to Personal Development by John Patrick Hickey.  You can get a signed copy for yourself and get one for a friend, by going to http://www.johnpatrickhickey.com/it-is-good-to-set-goals-better-to-achieve-then/.  Now available on Kindle, Oops! Did I Really Post That? Online Etiquette in the Digital Age by John Patrick Hickey.

© 2016 John Patrick Hickey. No part of this may be reprinted or published without permission of the author.