Preservation (Over Recovery)

Character is much easier kept than recovered. – Thomas Paine

Just as it’s easier to keep an existing customer than to acquire a new one, character and trust is much, much, much harder to recover once it’s is lost than it is to maintain.

Therefore, resolve to live in such a way:

That you don’t deceive.

That you don’t take advantage.

That you don’t take the easy way out.

That you don’t shrink from opportunities to help or serve when the arise.

That you don’t expect something for nothing.

That you don’t forego chances to be kind.

That you don’t play one off the other

That you don’t . . . well, you get the idea by now I imagine.

At the very least, treat others the way you wish to be treated.*

Whenever possible, treat others the way they wish to be treated.**

*  *  *

* The Golden Rule

** The Platinum Rule

Similar Posts

  • The Scourge of Stuff

    I also have in mind that seemingly wealthy, but most terribly impoverished class of all, who have accumulated dross, but know not how to use it, or get rid of it, and thus have forged their own golden or silver fetters. – Henry David Thoreau The curse of stuff, of (unrealized) abundance. It’s as if we’re…

  • Some Thoughts on Forgiveness

    True forgiveness is when you can say, ‘Thank you for that experience.’ – Oprah Winfrey To forgive is the highest, most beautiful form of love. In return, you will receive untold peace and happiness. – Robert Muller When you realize you (can) grow from everything, you know the truth of Winfrey’s words. When you realize that…

  • What We’re Made For

    I feel that the greatest reward for doing is the opportunity to do more. – Jonas Salk We are made to love, to create, to work and toil and then recover, recharge and appreciate and begin again. The only way we get to begin again is to finish what we start. So, work hard, finish,…

  • Never Waste a Calamity

    Every calamity is a spur and a valuable hint. – Emerson Yes, I am riffing off the recent political meme in the post title. (“Never let a crisis go to waste.” (Attributed, I believe, to Rahm Emanuel).) That aside, Emerson’s words are an extremely valuable reminder. We ignore “failures” and “calamities” at our peril. Every…