It is the New Year and many of us begin the yearly ritual of reflecting on our lives and making resolutions to lose weight or to do something nice for others –such as giving more hugs and smiles or opening doors for people. Our hope is that beginning New Year’s Day we will start fresh and improve ourselves. It has been a long rough year for all of us in many, many ways!
You may have read the “Paradoxical Commandments” in the past, but we think they are worth repeating. Often attributed to different authors such as Dr. Karl Menninger or Mother Teresa, the “Paradoxical Commandments” were actually written as a guide for high school leaders by Dr. Kent M. Keith when he was a 19 year old undergraduate student at Harvard. In the 52 years since then, Dr. Keith’s words of wisdom have been quoted many times in many settings and actually did hang on the wall of Mother Teresa’s children’s home in Calcutta. There is also a Facebook page titled “Live the Paradoxical Commandments Anyway.”
Your friends at Brewster offer these “Paradoxical Commandments” as our New Year’s resolutions.
THE PARADOXICAL COMMANDMENTS by Dr. Kent M. Keith
People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. LOVE THEM ANYWAY.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. DO GOOD ANYWAY.
If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies. SUCCEED ANYWAY.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. DO GOOD ANYWAY.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. BE HONEST AND FRANK ANYWAY.
The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds. THINK BIG ANYWAY.
People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs. FIGHT FOR A FEW UNDERDOGS ANYWAY.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. BUILD ANYWAY.
People really need help but may attack you if you do help them. HELP PEOPLE ANYWAY.
Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth. GIVE THE WORLD THE BEST YOU HAVE ANYWAY.
