Personal Development and the Honorable 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.  

Honor is one of those old fashioned words that people use less and less, and many do not even know its meaning. We have gone through a couple of generations where honor, like the word duty, has not been taught to our young and, as a culture, we have come to not only neglect the word but many times to disdain it.

There are several reasons for the hostility that has been adopted in our culture toward honor. I believe the most prevalent is that honor requires us to be a step above the crowd. Not that we are prideful to think we are better, but it is expected for the honorable person to behave better

and to be different. This makes many feel they, too, must raise their standard of living and be better. You would think that would be a good thing but, in today’s culture, anything that requires us to work harder or be better is seen as wrong.

For the person who is seeking personal development and to become the very best they can be, the idea that no one should strive to be better than the next guy and that we are all winners must not be accepted. American writer H.L. Mencken put it this way: “Honor is simply the morality of the superior man.”

There is no doubt that if more people sought to become honorable and did their duty in all areas of life, this country and this world would be a better place. When a person is honorable, they are people who can be trusted. We can be assured that they will do what they say they will

do, and will do it with the highest integrity; no need to worry that somehow they will cheat or short change you: you know that a man or woman of honor will do exactly what they promise to.

Honor and duty are moral compasses that guide us to live better, serve others and to achieve more in life. These are qualities that will bring you more joy, peace and fulfillment than any other qualities you will develop. They are the foundation that all other qualities are built upon, and will hold you up when all else around you crumbles. It does not take a great historian to see that when we held these qualities dear, lives were better and the nation was stronger. Honor and duty are not just for the soldier, but are key qualities for every man, woman and child who seek a better and more successful life.

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.