Five thoughts, ideas, insights, or quotes to power up your mind to think differently and creatively about life and who we are. Put all previous thinking away and open up a brand new world of the Supermind. YOUR SuperMind.

This week – Standards and Values.

Times change. Society alters. Life moves on and never stands still. But despite this somethings need to remain to hold us up or humanity will fall apart. We require strong foundations to build our world and futures on. One flag bearer that has served us well for many years are standards and values. Decent behaviours, attitudes, and personal actions that ensure we are civilised. Are these still present today? Or have they begun to disappear? SuperMind Saturday decides it’s time to get involved.

1. Are we paying a price?

NFL Head Coach Mike Tomlin said, ‘You can’t put a price on standards and legacy’. A noble quote and observation. This has held true for many many years in life. But, in today’s world it seems less so. The price a growing number of people are happy to pay to let go of previous high standards is money and/or recognition. Being a someone is more important than being a good one.

Do standards and values have a price and, if so, is it worth paying to lose them?

2. Do we even know what they are?

If you were to ask your family and friends what counts as good standards and values, would most of them agree? Or would they even know what that means. Overall we link morals and ethics and levels of behaviour and language to standards and values as the core definitions. But in the modern ‘go-get-what-you-can-for-yourself’ mentality society could well be divided what makes up S +V’s. Or that we even need most of them at all.

If standards and values became a key element of life again, how would we define what they should be?

3. It starts with you and me.

We can talk about standards and values of the world for a lifetime. How they have changed or disappeared and when we have seen or experienced it ourselves. And even cite examples of the type of people who typify the loss of manners and respect. Maybe though, that’s the start of the problem in the first place. We are fast to point the finger at everyone else, but we should look a little closer to home. Look at ourselves as individuals to ensure we aren’t being the same as the people we accuse.

How often do we ask ourselves whether we are personally living by the right standards and values?

4. Selfish or Self Promotion.

It’s a crowded world out there. From the streets to the roads. And from getting a job to keeping a job. Or from making it big to making enough to survive. From online to offline. The world is fuller than ever. This means there is always someone more skilful, popular, well informed, attractive, successful, wealthy, and powerful than you. If you don’t want to be left behind you have to stand out in some way. You can’t stand on ceremony. If you don’t push yourself forwards someone (or lots of others) certainly will. That used to be seen as selfish. Today that could be viewed as sensible self promotion.

Are we selfish to be first, best, or prominent or is self promotion the only way to act on this packed planet?

5. Who do we look up to?

Perhaps there is one area where the greatest shift has occurred. Historically we looked to our leaders and statesmen for our direction on standards and values. They led the way in how to operate at the best level as a human being. This has radically altered. Where we once completely trusted such people, today we feel the very opposite. Our parents also fit that bill as people to be examples to us. But with the advent of social media younger generations are less inclined to be parent and leader inspired and more celebrity so. Which begs the final, and potentially, most crucial question.

Who should we look up to for our standards and values today? Which of type of person, if any, is the perfect role model for most of us to follow?

Let me know your views or insights to these questions. Love to hear how you see and think it!

Ok, that’s another SuperMind Saturday done. Thank you for being here for the SuperMind time. Keep thinking about these. We need more minds thinking about this issue and the others issue on SuperMind Saturdays. Why? Because it’s needed. Because the world requires new thoughts and ideas. Ones from people like you!!

See you next time for more super thinking.

Photo attribution – free to use under Pixabay Content License by RingoStudio.