I believe
our character, guided by our morals is a sum total of daily thoughts that lead
into action.
We sow
thoughts that in the long run yield a character in us. A consistent thought
pattern leads into actions, then consistent actions into habits then to
character. If you want to develop a particular character, you need to start
being consistent in thought and do small actions about it. Slowly, you will end
up with that character. I believe the converse is true.
Morals play
a key role in our character formation. It’s like the foundation of our
character. You may find someone who is not a thief but likes to gossip. His
character might be great but his morals are questionable, this intern
compromises his/her character. Hence a truly good admirable character is based
on great morals passed down to us. These morals could be due to parenting,
religious influence, nurturing etc.
We find
ourselves in a society where things have become relative. There are no
absolutes and our morals are questionable. It’s unfortunate that even in the
family, we have no absolutes. We excuse way so many things and slowly we don’t have
a clearly defined moral fabric in our society. We are no longer for Yes or No.
Whenever you question a character flaw, you get responses like “it depends”. We
no longer call a spade a spade. Many confuse this with the desire to try
understand why someone did a particular thing or why someone has a given
character.
We live in
a very sophisticated era. We want instant gratification, we are materialistic,
technology has brought everything close to us, information on anything is at
our finger tips. You can have a very intelligent conversation on any topic
without necessarily having to go to school for that topic. Our young people
idolize what they see in the media and all around them. This in turn has fed
into th
eir thought patterns. If you spend time seeing something too much, it
registers in your subconscious mind and very soon you realize it becomes the
center of your conversation and down the road, you are acting like it. So it’s
very important we question what we are feeding our minds on. I love this quote,
“Show
me the heroes that the youth of your country look up to, and I will tell you
the future of your country” by Idowu Koyenikan.
We might
not change what you get exposed to. You may choose to walk blind so you don’t
see all that is around you or block your ears so you don’t hear, but I wonder
for how long. We may not stop the technology because it’s helpful on the other
hand. We need it more to make it through all that we have to do. Unless we do
something about our morals we are headed down the drain. We need a strong moral
fiber more than ever. We need to teach our young ones a culture that overrides
what they see or hear. We need to give them a clear operating system that will
not be corrupted by whatever it might get exposed to. This is a daunting task
and not many people have the patience for it. As parents, it upon us to
question what culture we want our children to grow up in.
But how to
you intentionally influence a culture of a society? This is not a one-day
process or an instant process. You need time and you need to be committed to
it. You need to have the right heart to do this. Your need to be willing to do
more than just ticking a box to even attempt this. Culture/Morals are very key
on how a society develops. You may have great plans to transform a society but
unless you address the culture then you are likely to fail miserably.
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| Image Credit: www.giantworldwide.com |
As a GiANT
Worldwide Consultant, I’m a firm believer that to transform a particular culture, you need to develop a
vocabulary that people will identify with, you then need to make it visual,
make it simple for everyone to really interact with it. You need to use it in
an objective way. To inspire people to rise beyond their present culture and
embrace something new or different. This will then transform the culture. You
also need culture champions to push the kind of culture you want to build. If
you have the right culture in place, your strategy will work because as they
say, “culture eats strategy for breakfast”.
What
culture are we building that will be able to safeguard the gains we have made?
What are we exposing our young people to? Who are their role models? Who do
they look up to? What kind of a generation do we want to leave behind? What are
we doing in the family sphere to transform the culture we want our children to
operate in.
If this resonates with you, seek to build a
culture in your sphere of influence. Look for a small community of friends who
you can do this together with… Being accountable to a few and practicing with a few. It’s about
building a community of friends to share each other’s journey of transforming
our cultures. You have to be deeply
committed to each other and desire to see each other grow in this journey. You
have to create a support, encouragement and accountability platform for each
other. The community has to be a small as possible so that there is active
engagement by all involved.
Find a
community around you and see if these conversations make sense to you…
By Gabriel Achayo.
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