While time runs only in one direction, human beings have the privilege
of hesitating and zigzagging. Nobody can prevent you from destroying
what you have built in the past. You can do away with your possessions
and reputation. You can neglect to use your talent and education. You
can move forward or start from scratch.
Increased personal effectiveness
Consistency becomes
ethically relevant when it is anchored on fundamental virtues such as
honesty and independence. A man can be consistent with his best or worst
actions; coherence with the former enhances his moral stature; loyalty
to evil precipitates his demise.
Personal effectiveness is fuelled
by virtue and accelerated by consistency. A rational man desires to
build higher. He wants his health to improve, or at least, not to
deteriorate. He expects his family to become a growing source of joy. In
his work, he aims at expanding his business or advancing his career.
If
he acts in alignment with reality, his expectations will be fulfilled
barring extreme bad luck or misfortune. On the other hand, if he behaves
inconsistently, chances are that he will make a mess of his life.
Contradictions lead to waste
A wise man corrects his mistakes
and reaffirms his commitment to doing what is right. A fool dismisses
lessons from experience and blames his errors on others.
When
marriages fall apart due to lack of commitment, they leave adults
scarred and children stranded. When companies change their strategy too
frequently, they accumulate mistakes. When investors buy and sell shares
too often, they fail to achieve substantial capital gains.
On
most occasions, contradictory behaviour arises from inconsistent
convictions. Without a strong sense of direction, coherence is
unsustainable. Without integrated values, ethics become meaningless.
Without a reliable compass, maps can provide little certainty.
Even
if individuals who perform counter-productive actions are willing to
correct their mistakes, they seldom identify what they have to do. The
difficulty does not lie in detecting failure, but in extracting valid
lessons from experience.
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Text:
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