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Life Gems: Our Core Principles for (Good) Human Development

Mar. 08, 2017 05:03AM EST
 Dan Ackermann

Raising children is a project, and any good project manager will scope out goals and deliverables at the onset to make sure the project is staying on track. So for this project (parenting), we need to determine now what attributes we want our fully-grown humans to have, and what principles that they should hold dear.

We call them 'Life Gems', and we'll be talking quite a bit about them throughout the course of the posts on this site. That's because they're our blueprint for creating a good human. Think of them as the merit badges of personality development.

We'll likely add to them over time, and we'll keep this post up to date, complete with notes and revisions. So without further ado, here's our (current) list:

1. Be Kind to Others and Have Empathy

2. Respect Differences in Others, Even if You Don't Agree

3. Pick Your Battles, But Stand Your Ground When Necessary

4. Be the Voice for Those That Can't Speak Up for Themselves

5. Be Selfless

6. But Be a Little Bit Selfish Too (Have Self-Respect)

7. Never Stop Learning

8. Listen Actively and Communicate Freely

9. Commend Others for Their Achievements Over Boasting Your Own

10. Accept That Negativity and Evil Exist in the World

11. And Fight Like Hell to Counteract Them with Good

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