⚡️ 12 Core Virtues of The Lakota Tribe

In his book “The Lakota Way: Stories and Lessons for Living”, Joseph M. Marshall III identifies 12 core virtues of the Lakota tribe that provide a path to a meaningful and fulfilling life:

• Bravery. Showing courage and discipline, especially when facing difficulties or danger.

• Fortitude. Having resilience and strength of mind to persist through hardships.

• Generosity. Giving and sharing with others, not just possessions but also kindness and compassion. The most generous person was considered the most important member of the tribe.

• Wisdom. Gained through knowledge, experience, and sound judgment, the wisdom of elders and seniors is highly respected in the community.

• Respect. Honoring the dignity of every individual, including oneself, all living things, and the natural world.

• Honor. Demonstrating integrity by acting in a way consistent with one’s virtues and values.

• Perseverance. The ability to face and overcome obstacles with patience and a strong mind.

• Love. A spiritual emotion that encompasses all things and is seen as the motivation for all creation.

• Humility. Freedom from pride and arrogance.

• Sacrifice. Surrendering possessions or one’s own comfort for the benefit of the community and others.

• Truth. Being honest and truthful in one’s words and actions.

• Compassion. Having concern for those in unfortunate situations and genuine willingness to care for others.

What do you even add to this? All I know is that if we all lived according to these virtues, the world would be a much better place.

Make what’s good for you as easy as possible. Don’t overthink and overcomplicate things. Start small and keep it simple. Schedule activities in advance and take action right away when the time comes. Remove friction and complexity. Prepare everything so that it’s ready for you to start.

Want to start exercising? Don’t think “1 hour, 5 days per week, all year long”. Think “just 20 minutes, today”. Decide when exactly you’re going to do it. Prepare your clothes in advance. When it’s time, go for it. Repeat tomorrow.

Make what’s bad for you as difficult as possible. Create and increase friction. Make it complicated and time-consuming. Limit access. The more effort it takes, the less likely you are to do it. Postpone and procrastinate - both good plans and bad ones fall apart when we delay them.

Want to reduce sugar intake? Stop buying sweets. If you don’t have those cookies and you need to go to the store to buy them, you’re much more likely to skip them altogether. Want to stop playing games? Delete them from your devices; disconnect your console and put it away.

We often put off meaningful projects, telling ourselves we’ll get to them when we have more free time.

The truth is you may never have more free time. When you get promoted or your business grows, chances are you’ll have even more responsibilities. Also, life happens - you may have a(nother) kid or need to take care of a parent. And even if you end up having more free time in the future, your energy levels may just not be the same.

Live with a little sense of urgency. Make time for the meaningful things now before it’s too late.

Haste makes waste. Rushing almost always leads to errors and poor outcomes.

On the other hand, when we slow down, give ourselves time to think, focus, and carefully execute our tasks, we are more efficient, make fewer mistakes, and achieve better results.

As they say in the military: “Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.”

Take your time and do it right.

Bucket List

Beach of the week: Nosy Iranja, Madagascar. It’s comprised of two small islands connected by a thin sandbar that only appears at low tide. The place is often referred to as “Turtle Island” because sea turtles lay their eggs there. Lovely place! 🏝️

I guess this is the second time in my life I’ve wished I was a turtle (I really wanted to be a ninja turtle when I was a kid). 🐢

worlds50beaches

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