Tiny Buddha

Category: Leadership

  • Tiny Wisdom: Choose to Be a Hero

    Tiny Wisdom: Choose to Be a Hero

    “A hero is a man who does what he can.” -Romain Rolland

    Two weeks ago, a group of brave bystanders in Utah banded together to lift a burning car and save a man trapped beneath it.

    In 2009, a passenger on Northwest Flight 253 leapt onto a burning man to prevent him from detonating an explosive device on Christmas Day.

    Four years ago, a 50-year old man threw himself onto the subway tracks in Manhattan, just as a train was arriving, to save a man who had fallen after having a seizure.

    These men and women all had one thing in common: they were ordinary people, just like you and me, and they decided in an instant to do something heroic.

    According to renowned psychologist Dr. Phil Zimbardo, famous for his Stanford prison experiment, we can all be heroes—and it doesn’t require us to put our lives at risk.

    Dr. Zimbardo has dedicated his career to studying the darker side of human nature to understand what causes some people to act kindly and others to act cruelly. His research has revealed that we all have the potential for good and bad, and it’s largely influenced by our situations.

    So what exactly makes a hero? Simply put, a hero is someone who chooses not to watch and wait in the face of a crisis.

    A hero puts compassion into action by helping someone in need—whether it’s a friend or a stranger.

    A hero decides to speak out against injustice, instead of assuming someone else will do it.

    A hero supports the causes that matter to him or her, without expecting reward.

    It’s easy to feel powerless when it comes to righting the biggest wrongs in our world. But stronger than our fear that we can’t make a difference is our instinct to try.

    Today I commit to doing what I can—being there for those who need me, standing up for what I believe in, and choosing not to ignore my instincts when I feel that something isn’t right.

    How will you be a hero?

    Photo by merick.fightBoredom

  • Tiny Wisdom: Let Your Light Shine Bright

    Tiny Wisdom: Let Your Light Shine Bright

    “As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.” ~Marianne Williamson

    We all have it: a little voice inside that tries to hold us back.

    It tells us not to say what we feel so we won’t make any waves. It tells us not to define what we want so that things can stay predictably easy. It tells us not to go for our dreams because we may not be good enough.

    It may also tell us that it’s selfish to focus on our own desires and goals–that good people are more concerned with giving than getting. But giving and receiving are two sides of the same coin. And sometimes the best thing we can give to others is a reminder that we all deserve to live passionate, fulfilling, engaged lives–and we all have the capacity to do it.

    So today, let your light shine.

    Make your own needs and wants priorities.

    Make time for the things you love to do, even if they feel silly, or superficial, or extravagant. If it’s within your means to do it and it doesn’t hurt anyone, don’t worry about justifying–just enjoy!

    Use your gifts and talents in the way you want to use them–not the way you think you should.

    Speak directly from your heart, without fear of reproach.

    If you believe in something, stand behind it, even if you stand alone.

    Keep your heart open to the world around you so you can be moved and inspired–and then use that internal illumination to create something that will move and inspire the people around you.

    Play. Laugh. Love. Leap. And remember that you have nothing to prove. There’s nothing you have to do, and there’s no one you have to be other than exactly who you are, because who you are is beautiful. Who you are is full of light–and the world deserves to see it.

    Photo by Missie Graham

  • Tiny Wisdom: What Is Truly Great

    Tiny Wisdom: What Is Truly Great

    “To become truly great, one has to stand with people, not above them.” -Charles de Montesquieu

    There is a very specific type of post I look for when reading guest contributions. It’s not expert advice, though clearly it helps to have a thorough knowledge of a topic. It’s not beautiful prose, though obviously it’s enjoyable to receive a post that reads like poetry.

    What I look for is bravery in honesty. You can clarify the wording and expand on the advice, but you can’t create authenticity through editing.

    I’d far prefer to read a post about depression from someone who admits their own experiences than from someone who only discloses where they received their PhD. I’d be much more interested in a post about fear from someone who admits what terrifies them than a well-crafted article from an author who seems to be without struggles of his own.

    I haven’t always written vulnerably because once upon a time I thought this undermined my authority–and I wanted people to trust me. Then I realized that the people I trust the most in life are the ones who aren’t afraid to show me that they, too, are fallible.

    We, as a society, often set ourselves up for massive falls from grace by catapulting ourselves and our public figures onto pedestals, where we’ll inevitably fall.

    We are all only human. And none of us have it all figured it out–not even the people we trust to lead, guide, inspire, and blaze a trail for us. No matter how much we have to teach, we still have much to learn.

    Admitting this isn’t insecurity; it’s honesty. Of course, there’s a balance to be struck. If we hope to be a force for good, we have to be good to ourselves so that being humble doesn’t preclude us from being strong.

    The point is that we can’t reach other people by extending a hand from 1,000 miles above them. We have to acknowledge that we’re in the same boat in order to help steer each other straight.

    I may not know you, but I know I am a lot like you, and that we can relate to each other. I know that we are not alone with our challenges and feelings. And knowing that is truly great.

    Photo by Akuppa