“Should you always do what others tell you to do? Sometimes you might not even know why you’re doing something. I mean any fool can have courage. But honor, that’s the real reason for you either do something or you don’t. It’s who you are and maybe who you want to be. If you die trying for something important, then you have both honor and courage, and that’s pretty good.” -Michael Oher in The Blind Side
I was watching The Blind Side for what seems like the millionth time last night. For me, the biggest takeaway has to do with honor.
Honor is what defines you personally and professionally. It’s not only about who you are now, it’s also about what you are doing and what you want to achieve in the future.
Going into the New Year, it’s time to evaluate the choices and decisions you have made this year. Ask yourself these questions.
- What do you really want to achieve at your current job?
- Are you putting forth the maximum effort to try and achieve your goals?
- Are you just following the chain of commands and doing things without thinking?
- Are you doing everything your boss and coworkers ask without questioning what you are doing?
- Are you checking out of tasks altogether?
Often times, we get so focused on going about our daily business that we lose track of our ambitions and goals for the future. We become blinded by our routine. We forget all the courage and honor it took to get to that point where we are at.
When we feel like we are losing that drive, we need to take a second to regroup and refocus on how we got to the point that we are out and what we need to do to get to the point that we want to be at.
Make sure that whatever you are trying to achieve is of diehard importance to you. As Big Mike says, it takes a lot of honor as well as some courage to achieve your goals.
Many times, we demonstrate our honor in the workplace by picking our battles wisely. If you fight against every little thing, you will quickly become jaded and lose track of your goals. So choose wisely and be honorable and you will eventually come out on top.
What goals and ambitions will you be fighting for 2011? What will motivate you next year?
