A few days ago I saw a video of a UPS delivery driver taking time out of his day to shovel snow from the porch where he had just dropped off his package. There seemed to be nothing in it for him. From what I could gather in the grainy image, he was shoveling with a smile, oblivious to being filmed on a doorcam. Of course this could have been staged (we need to be even more cautious what we trust these days) but there seemed no harm in choosing to believe it genuine.
I did brief rummage on the interwebs and the video seems to be at least a year old, perhaps recirculating at this time of year, when we have a greater need to believe in the higher qualities of human creatures. As we transition into a new solar year the video nudged me into thinking about what other qualities might join this selfless act on a manifesto for life.
For this manifesto, which I confess is still embryonic, I took my cue from the manifesto for agile software development. That manifesto emerged from an industry in which micro-management and bureaucracy were stifling effective delivery of a useful solution.
This is a work in progress. I expect to visit this frequently and update regularly – at least I hope so. Let me begin, and please feel free to share your own thoughts on what might be added.
- Kindness, even when no one is looking
- Others over self
- Doing the right thing over doing the thing right
- Variety over uniformity
- Ethics over profits
- Creativity over consumption
- Listening over speaking
- Feedback over criticism
- Respect, even in disagreement
- Know yourself
- Live curiously
- Cultivate passion
- Consistency in word and deed
- Find your right circumstances because in the wrong circumstances every strength is a weakness, and in the right circumstances every weakness is a strength
- Cultivate your ability to adapt
- Hold people accountable, especially yourself
- Consume sustainably
- Perseverence
- Be a caretaker of the world
- Respond rather than react
- Having something is less important than knowing how to get it back
- If you truly knew it you would have done it, so be kind to yourself – when we know better, we do better
- Everyone is your teacher
- Everything is your teacher
- Learn a trade
- Be honest, especially with yourself (bonus: you won’t need to remember so much)
- Be a citizen of the world
- Resilience
