PRIDE AND PREJUDICE: How Values Influence Achievements
A scene from the film Pride and Prejudice / livewire. the wire.in
Values are universal principles and ideals that we unconditionally accept as guiding forces for our actions. Although we cannot see or touch them, they are just as real as any physical object. People may dedicate their entire lives to their values or even sacrifice themselves in their devotion to them.
Those who value their individuality and are unafraid to take responsibility act with a sense of dignity. Those who cherish honesty and sincerity cannot bring themselves to lie. Those who prioritize family or friendship willingly sacrifice their personal interests for the sake of others. And those who uphold goodness cannot deliberately cause harm.
VALUES AND ACHIEVEMENTS
In Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice, there is a character named George Wickham — a man of impeccable manners and charm, yet utterly unprincipled. To Wickham, values seemed like an unnecessary burden standing in his way.
Thanks to his father’s connections, this young man was fortunate enough to receive a good education and secure a comfortable income for life. However, his actions ultimately nullified all these advantages. He earned a reputation as a selfish spendthrift, a liar, and a fraud.
In the end, Wickham was completely exposed and forced to marry a frivolous young woman whose understanding of values was no more developed than his own.
In reality, values should teach a person the self-discipline necessary for great achievements.
The quality of the values we embrace and the intensity of our commitment to them determine the level of our achievements in life
VALUES TRANSFORM ENERGY INTO RESULTS
To understand the importance and power of values, we must first take a broader view of what achievement truly means.
Achievement is the process of converting human energy into results
Energy, when released through aspiration, gains direction, transforming it into Power. When Power is expressed through skillful action, it produces results. The magnitude and quality of achievements depend on the energy involved, its direction, organization, and the skills applied. This process is what we call the transformation of energy.
THE ROLE OF VALUES
The role of values can be easily understood by drawing an analogy with the role of skills. When we engage in physical action, the results depend on the level of our skills. A person who is two meters tall is not necessarily a good basketball player.
Beyond height, they need the ability to jump, agility, precision, balance, and many other physical skills. Energy alone is not enough. Physical skills serve as channels that direct energy toward achieving results. Values play a similar role on a psychological level.
Achieving results in any endeavor depends not only on our physical energy. More importantly, it depends on the level of psychological energy we can bring into that action.
Interest, determination, passion, drive, and enthusiasm are some of the ways we characterize the intensity of our psychological energy.
Just as physical skills channel our physical energy toward achieving results, values channel our psychological energy toward accomplishments
A gymnast or football player with a passion for excellence will continue to train throughout their career, refining their craft, which ultimately leads to success.
Values determine the intensity and flow of our psychological energy
THE ORIGIN OF VALUE
Anything that serves as a guiding principle for our actions can be considered a value.
On a collective level, society develops certain values through a long process of trial and error — an ongoing experiment with different approaches to life.
Over years and centuries, societies come to understand that certain principles are essential for communal survival. These fundamental guiding principles are then passed down to future generations as cultural benchmarks for behavior.
For example, people recognize that cleanliness is necessary for health, honesty and truthfulness are vital in trade, loyalty, and patriotism to ensure the integrity and security of society, while responsibility and self-sacrifice strengthen the family.
On a higher level, enlightened individuals who have directly experienced elevated states of spiritual consciousness have discovered the universal truths of the spiritual reality that manifests in the universe.
They have revealed the essence of what we call God, Spirit, or Truth, which expresses itself through fundamental spiritual values such as Unity, Kindness, Harmony, Beauty, Love, Joy, and Peace.
They affirmed that the more we strive to live in alignment with these values, the higher our level of consciousness rises and the more these qualities manifest in our lives.
The sages knew that values derived from life experience are secondary truths and lower expressions of higher spiritual values, as well as stepping stones on the ascending ladder of evolution.
The form and significance attributed to each of these values change depending on the time period and country, but the essential truth they represent remains unchanged
VALUES ARE SPIRITUAL SKILLS
Values are universal ideals of behavior that are internally recognized as self-evident truths of life, human relationships, and spiritual growth.
Values activate the deepest source of energy within our personality and direct it toward action
Therefore, commitment to high values demands the highest intensity of action and enables the greatest levels of human achievement — material, social, psychological, and spiritual. The success of every great individual who has left a mark on history, culture, and literature is built upon the foundation of values.
