Resilience, Humility, Aspiration and Kindness

Over the past few weeks, I have done a series of Assemblies that have focused on the qualities that I would really like to see all of the pupils at Felsted aim to develop in themselves.  These four qualities are: Resilience, Humility, Aspiration and Kindness.  I hope that a few of the pupils will remember these and try to make them a part of their daily goal setting as they face each new day.

When talking about Resilience, I showed the video of US skier, Bode Miller, who lost a ski a few seconds into a 2005 World Cup race, but proceeded to complete the course on one ski (Bode miller one ski 2005).  He didn't finish anywhere near the winners, but as a sign of resillience (not to mention great skill) it takes some beating!  All of us will face challenges in our lives, whether personal or professional, and what defines us, is not what we suffer, but how we respond. As Vince Lombardi said:

"It is not whether you get knocked down, but whether you get back up."

My second quality was Humility.  For this, I spoke about Andrew Widdowson, whose memorial service Felsted had just hosted.  Andrew was a remarkable person, who never once complained about his lot in life, despite suffering a life-changing injury in his early 20s on the rugby pitch.  I never heard him say a cross word during his time at Felsted, and I have never heard any say anything negative about him.  He was a wonderful role model, and someone who demonstrated humility in the way that he lived his life every day.  CS Lewis captures this best for me:

"Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less."
 

Andrew Widdowson

My third quality was Aspiration (striving to be your very best).  I found a great example for this in a book that I have just read, My Beautiful Sisters, the autobiography of former Afghanistan Women's Football Captain, Khalida Popal.  Khalida had to fight prejudice in her home country, faced physical and sexual abuse, fled as a refugee, and yet still came out fighting to keep the women's team alive, even when the Taliban returned to power and banned women from all sports.  Her story is incredibly inspiring, as she battled depression, separation from her family, and still came through as a voice for change, a leader and a role model, striving to be the very best version of herself. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson says of this:

"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest achievement."
 

I will finish with Kindness on Tuesday, and that is because, to me, it is the greatest virtue and we should all 'be kind whenever possible.  It is always possible' (the Dalai Lama).

Enjoy the sunshine.

Chris