I found a pearl of wisdom from Victor E. Frankl; I want to share it with you. I think his insight here is tremendous, and valuable to anyone. Especially to leaders at any level, including teachers, therapists, and parents. It’s found within a fragment of a lecture he gave in 1972 where he uses a flying tactic as a metaphor for how to treat others. He also explains that Goethe is the origin. Watch it yourself (see YouTube clip below), the whole clip is only 4 minutes long. Allow me to summarize in the following quote, my words are in parentheses:
“If you take a man as he really is you make him worse. But, if you overestimate him, and overrate him (seeing him as his best self), you promote him to what he really can be . . . If you take a man as they should be you make them capable of becoming what they can be . . . This is the most apt maxim and motto for any psycho therapeutic activity. If you don’t recognize a man’s will to meaning, man’s search for meaning, you make him worse, you make him dull, you frustrate him, you steal, and add to his frustration. Recognize the spark (of divinity) within each person, let’s presuppose it, and then you will elicit it from him.”
Unfortunately, we may encounter people (bosses, teachers, parents, etc.) who do the opposite of what Victor is recommending here. For them, I recommend you refer back to the ancient Latin phrase, “Illegitimus Carburundum” which means, “don’t let the bastards grind you down!” And, don’t be like them. Instead, seek to bring light into the world. Recognize that you have the power to unleash, to free, to manifest the potential within those around you. And, you have the power to do this for yourself! See the best possible version of yourself and strive to fly north of it. Don’t worry, the winds of life’s resistance will push you south, but you will land at your best possible destination.
This is a habit of mind worth ingraining. I believe it is a mode of being, a mode of behavior toward others and ourselves, that is implicit within The 365 Commitment. It is a philosophical underpinning of this whole effort.
Ben Wagner (79)
Member The 365 Commitment
