Live the Core Values

Sometimes I think about the classes that I took when I was in middle school and high school
and perhaps you got to immerse yourself in college, too. I think about those classes like optional
math subjects where we learned about sin, cos, tan and various other formulae. Most of those
things that I learned back in those days were learned in class, I was tested on them and then
when done with the exams, I never really applied them in real life. It was interesting to learn
those subjects as they were a part of what our education system had identified that kids needed
to learn to graduate school. It would be a different subject matter to focus on others; however, in
this post that I am about to share with you, I would like to talk about us, because I think what we
have control over is ourselves more so than others – at least to some extent.
Having had a little bit of experience interacting with individuals in life, I find it interesting to see
individuals talk about a plethora of themes. What they say makes sense, too. Some of them
even have degrees on the subject matter to identify themselves as experts in their fields. Some
with PhDs, some with professional certifications and even some with DTMs. Let me explain. I
completed my required project of Level 3 in my Motivational Strategies path. The project is titled
Understanding Emotional Intelligence. It talks about a good number of topics and one piece of
information I would like to share in particular from that project is a way to strengthen emotional
intelligence. In the project it states: Reframe negative thoughts. Furthermore, it is explained that
“Reframing is a way of altering the way you look at something to change your perception of the
experience.” This is only one example of the many things we learn from completing our projects
utilizing the education program that Toastmasters has to offer.
Currently we have a total of 11 paths that we get to choose from with 5 levels in each path and
there is so much learning opportunity. If we are open to learning and open to personal growth
there is a whole lot that we can soak in. Unlike subject matter that we may have taken in school
which we probably left in exam rooms, the learning we come across in our projects contains
ideas and concepts we could probably find a way to apply in our daily interactions with anyone
and anywhere. The question I’d like to ask us is this: Are we taking the opportunity to apply what
we have learned in our projects in our everyday interactions? The concepts that we learn from
the projects are things to be applied and practiced in life.
We are in an organization that has four defined core values – Integrity, Respect, Service and
Excellence. These are core values we believe in, and reasons we are a part of it. Just like we
believe that the education program is going to add value in our lives, so will the application of
the core values. I find it challenging sometimes, but I find opportunities of growth to constantly
improve myself and the situation around me; as this is what experiential learning is all about. I
consider myself a work in progress trying to live the core values. Please join me by living the
core values, practicing what we preach and making a positive impact in the lives that we touch
every day – Working Together, Celebrating Excellence.