If you had to sum up your life philosophy in one sentence,
what would it be?
Life is less about what you achieve than who you become and what others gain from the person you’ve become.
If I had to sum up my life philosophy in one sentence, that would be it.
I’ve spent much of my working life helping people grow. As a parish minister, my pastoral and preaching ministry focused on helping people grow through all the different seasons of life. As an educator, I’ve helped people prepare for careers in which they might exercise influence and make a difference. I’ve helped people find their voice, learn how to learn, and discover possibilities they hadn’t previously imagined.
These might seem like different occupations, but I’ve always understood them as expressions of the same calling.
These days I work in a residential college where everything we do is focused on forming people. We want our residents to become mature people of character and integrity, equipped not simply to succeed in life but to make a worthwhile contribution to the world around them.
Of course, achievement matters. There is satisfaction in working hard, developing our abilities and reaching goals we’ve set for ourselves. But achievement is only part of the story. A good education should do more than prepare us to earn a living. It should help us learn how to live.
We need room to ask questions, make mistakes, discover our strengths and learn from our failures. We need opportunities to grow into people who are not only capable but also wise, compassionate and generous.
I’ve tried to live by that same philosophy myself. I’ve pursued opportunities, taken on responsibilities and achieved many of the goals I set for myself. But increasingly, I find myself less interested in what I’ve accomplished and more interested in what others might gain from the person I’ve become.
Ultimately, it’s about growing from the inside out, becoming people whose lives are a blessing to others.
That’s the kind of life I want to live. And it’s the kind of life I want to help others live.
If you had to sum up your life philosophy in one sentence, what would it be?
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