Learning is a continual process
Published 12:00 am Monday, January 20, 2003
When I was in a professional supervisory position, my superior concluded that a certain professional whom I supervised "looks good to me." I reminded him of the difference between looking good and being good. This man, I said, played the role impressively but never got his job done. Every endeavor has people who become preoccupied with the process and think it is the same as product. Because they are in motion, they think they are motivated. What matters in life is not the activity but the accomplishment.
Well cared for patients are not those who return promptly to the physician whenever sick, but those she or he keeps well.
Lawyers whose clients never violate the law are those who testify most eloquently of their legal skills, not those the lawyer keeps getting acquitted.
The effective sermon is not that which excites
the congregation to say "What a great preacher," but the one that inspires them say "What a great God."
Accomplished writers write not so people can know them but themselves.
The finest compliment debaters can receive is not that the opponent agrees, but is challenged to think for himself.
Teachers accomplish most not when they have taught their students everything the teacher knows, but when they have taught them so inspiringly the teacher begins to learn from the students.
Competent librarians do not keep the books safely on the shelves, but in active circulation.
Valuable credit managers are not those with no accounts delinquent, but those who use credit as a tool to increase sales.
Praiseworthy parents are not those who have reared children to be as good as they but better than they ever were.
The winning coach is not one whose teams have won the most games but whose players have played their best.
The most appreciated singer is not one who sings most beautifully, but one who makes others want to sing too.
The most accomplished runner is not the one who has won the race but one who has bested himself--and taunted his chief competitor into run his best race.
A person is most a friend not by making another like him, but by making this other like himself.
The most competent counselor is not one who can tell clients what is wrong, but the one who facilitates changed lives.
The faithful minister is not the one who makes people emotionally happy but morally good.
The responsible retailer sells not what people want but what they need.
A peace-maker is not the person who breaks up a fight, but the one who teaches fighters to live in peace.
A good teacher gives students good answers, but a great teacher teaches them to ask good questions.
A police officer meritorious not so much by apprehending people breaking the law but by encouraging them to abide by the law.
Military commanders succeed not by winning wars but by preventing them.
When one opposes or competes with another, the greatest accomplishment is not the other's defeat but winning the other as a friend.
The most praiseworthy people-helping practitioner is the one who works himself out of a job by teaching clients to care for themselves. Successful parents rear their children so well the children no longer need them. They just want them as never before.
I know people who give clear statements of what should be accomplished and are eloquent in describing it and dramatic in promoting it, but they never actually do it. Those who listen are foolish and will suffer if they allow impressive rhetoric to deceive them and fail to demand results.
We begin by learning what needs to be done and then how to do it. We fail, however, if we go no further. We must press on by actually doing until it is done.
Dr. Wallace Alcorn’s commentaries appear in the Herald on Mondays.