Civility: Who Are You BEING?

Civility is defined as courtesy, politeness; a polite act or expression. A few observations about civility:

1. The world works better with more civility.
2. Civility is something each of us can choose.
3. We can choose civility at any moment each day.

My last post focused on getting over yourself and putting the interests of others ahead of your own.  Now, we shift to making who you are BEING more important than what you are DOING.

Don’t get me wrong, DOING is important.  Competence is fundamental to success.  Hopefully, you have invested considerable time, resources and effort to master knowledge and skills that allow you be very useful to the world around you.  You are sought after for your expertise and experience. You are able to give guidance to your business and to produce outstanding results.

But who you are BEING may be even more important.  You know who you are BEING by how the people around you see you.  You can be seen as demanding, harsh, kind, controlling, considerate, difficult, caring, mean-spirited , respectful, trustworthy and reliable or any number of other adjectives.  Who you are being has to do with how you carry yourself, your values and how you interact with the people in your world.

Growing in who you are BEING is often more difficult than gaining competence because there are not as many opportunities for training.  Growth in BEING used to be the domain of religious institutions, schools and the family.  Now, you must seek mentors who demonstrate maturity, wisdom and well-cultivated BEING.

So, who are you BEING?  Tomorrow be a little more intentional to be a source of encouragement, inspiration and support.  In so doing, you will make the world a more civil place.