Towards Self Appreciation (Part 1)
Being able to describe myself is not a simple, or short topic. In fact, if you’ve been following, I have been describing myself through my thoughts since the first post. This topic, I’m hoping will have some flow to it, so I decided to split it into several posts.
I believe in taking two approaches to better understanding myself. The first is to seek help from others. The second is to carefully consider who I am. These two approaches should be very disconnected. Who I am to other people or how I am perceived. Who I believe I am or who I want to be. I am hoping that the combination should give a rounded description of Adam.
As I try to put myself into words, I find it difficult to use words based on examples, without recalling conflicting counterexamples. I feel that I should focus on the person that I want to be instead of the person that I am. I hope there is little disjoint between the responses to those questions, but am certain that there is. As I grow and change as a person, there will always be differences.
I want to make a significant and valuable contribution to society. This value is relatively novel to me. I believe that it formalized when I was considering what part of endeavours I have engaged in was the most important to me. One of the most important experiences in my life was the opportunity to become a coach for young athletes aspiring to be alpine skiing superstars. I had many reasons to be a coach but the most significant was that I was able to contribute value to their young lives, the future of the sport and Canadian nationalism. My value in philanthropy has only grown. I read news from all over the world regularly and study the principles of economics. I understand how unhappiness is spread over the world, how many problems people deal with on a daily basis, how unproductive lives are, and that I can make a difference. I feel that the impact that I can have is limited only by my own ambition.
I want to be a person of high integrity. I want to be trusting, trustworthy and dependable. I have strong moral values that need to be exhibited. This is not the person that I have always been, and I realize that fact. Over time, I have come to realize that integrity is the most important characteristic a person can have. A person with integrity is confident, honest and secure with their character. A person with integrity understands themselves, and can make sound judgments as a result. A person of integrity can weather the raging storms of life with a strength that is derived from themselves. A person of integrity supports and empowers those around him.
