Magna Sententia Mondays: “Have A Healthy Sense Of Shame”

Every Monday, we explore a concept of Magna Sententia.

Today’s Axiom:

The Axiom Of Respect

Individuals Demonstrate Valid Behavior

By Treating Themselves And Others

Respectfully And Respecting

Only Those Who Earn It

The following is an excerpt from Magna Sententia: The Logical Cure for Our Society by Anna and Ellie Sherise:

Have A Healthy Sense Of Shame

Currently in society, there is no shame, and in fact, shame has become a dirty word. Experts advise adults not to shame children for fear of hurting their self-esteem, but the truth is, all children need their self-esteem hurt once in a while. Of course, it is irresponsible, reprehensible, and contrary to Magna Sententia to physically beat or mentally scar children; still, it is actually healthy for them to be constructively punished and shamed for behaving selfishly or disrespectfully.

All people need to be ashamed of themselves when they mistreat others or act inappropriately, yet there are many individuals who never feel badly about themselves or their behavior, even though they are mean, rude, self-centered, or insulting. It is really no wonder that children and adults are shooting up schools and places of business, as no one has been taught shame.

Self-respect is illogical unless it is warranted. Part of the Axiom of Respect is respecting only those who earn it. This applies to you as well: Only respect you if you earn it.

Real friends are honest with one another and do not permit destructive or inappropriate behavior. Do the same for yourself: If you hurt others, feel badly. If you lose your temper and speak cruelly, be ashamed. In our society, almost everyone has an excuse for his or her poor behavior. They neglect their parental responsibilities because their first husband left them with three children. They murder fellow students and teachers because they were teased in high school. They commit crimes because they had bad parents.

Moreover, certain individuals blame everything and everybody else for their own lack of success instead of putting one foot in front of the other and making a better life for themselves. In general, success is directly correlated to hard work, and people who spew jealousy over someone else’s success would be better off being quiet and trying harder. Individuals, self-help books, counselors, and other resources that attribute poor behavior to someone or something else make self-respect an illusion. People cannot truly respect themselves if they do not have a healthy sense of shame about their shortcomings and learn from their failures.

Magna Sententia Mondays: “Exercising Parenthood”

Every Monday, we explore a concept of Magna Sententia.

Today’s Axiom:

The Axiom Of Responsibility

Individuals Demonstrate Valid Behavior

By Taking Responsibility

For Themselves And Their Children

The following is an excerpt from Magna Sententia: The Logical Cure for Our Society by Anna and Ellie Sherise:

Exercising Parenthood

Many individuals treat parenthood as a biological state, rather than a serious responsibility. In contrast, Magna Sententia advocates exercising parenthood, which means that parents actively participate in their children’s upbringing and are involved in every aspect of childrearing. When parents exercise parenthood, they do not delegate any of their responsibilities to daycare centers, schools, extracurricular activities, employees, relatives, friends, or any other person besides themselves. While parents may utilize these resources to enhance their children’s development, these resources are not ultimately responsible for their children. Therefore, parents cannot expect other people, an institution, or program to raise their children for them.

As the Axiom of Responsibility indicates, parents demonstrate valid behavior by taking responsibility for their children. In addition to providing the fundamentals of food, clothing, shelter, and medical attention, all parents living according to Magna Sententia are the directors of their homes and establish close relationships with their children. These parents raise their children to have character and instill in them the value of education and a work ethic.

Magna Sententia Mondays: Being A Good Employee

Every Monday, we will explore a concept of Magna Sententia.

Today’s Axiom:

The Axiom Of Respect

Individuals Demonstrate Valid Behavior

By Treating Themselves And Others

Respectfully And Respecting

Only Those Who Earn It

The following is an excerpt from Magna Sententia: The Logical Cure for Our Society by Anna and Ellie Sherise:

How Not To Be The Employee Of The Month

• Do not show up, and do not notify your employer that you will be absent.
• Arrive late.
• Come to work drunk or high.
• Attend meetings unprepared.
• Gossip about management and co-workers at the water cooler.
• Surf the Internet, make personal calls, balance your checkbook, plan your wedding, or file your nails on company time.
• Take long lunches every day.
• Sleep at your desk.
• Do substandard work, and take your time doing it.
• Disobey direct orders from management.
• Ignore safety rules.
• Steal office supplies and equipment.
• Destroy company property.
• Punch your co-worker.
• Sexually harass your subordinates.
• Lie about how many hours you worked.
• Embezzle funds from your employer and its clients.
• Walk off the job.

For further reading on this subject, check out “Uh Oh – You Said THAT At Work?”

Magna Sententia Mondays: “Include The Right People”

Every Monday, we explore a concept of Magna Sententia.

Today’s Axiom:

The Axiom Of Responsibility

Individuals Demonstrate Valid Behavior

By Taking Responsibility

For Themselves And Their Children

The following is an excerpt from Magna Sententia: The Logical Cure for Our Society by Anna and Ellie Sherise:

Include The Right People In Your Life

The most significant aspect of taking care of yourself is including the right people in your life. If you are surrounded by individuals who make you feel badly about yourself and your decisions, or who demonstrate invalid behavior, you will never have the freedom to experience the benefits of Magna Sententia. Before people can relate well to others, they have to look at all of their relationships and make sure that they are not allowing themselves to be torn down. Strong individuals have healthy relationships, and part of taking responsibility for yourself is having the strength to exclude negative people from your life.

This world is filled with all types of people, and even though many are kind and warm, some individuals are mean, rude, hurtful, and insensitive. Not only can their lack of consideration hurt your feelings, but it can also be hard to know how to respond to their thoughtlessness. Instead of taking action, you might be in the habit of merely remaining silent, frustrated, and filled with resentment when others blatantly treat you poorly. Unfortunately, self-respect suffers when people do not speak up for themselves.

Additionally, there are those who are more subtle in their discourtesy, using manipulation to get their way. These individuals often degrade you with insulting “jokes,” making fun of you and what you achieve. Further, manipulators may cry so that you feel sorry for them and give in to their demands, which is particularly hard to refuse if the manipulation has gone on for some time. People who manipulate are usually masters at slowly robbing you of yourself. If you form close relationships with individuals like this, your self-confidence can completely disappear, especially if you long to please them.

Understand that desiring peace with others is a wonderful quality. In contentious circumstances, a great leader explores all viable options, hoping to find a peaceful solution. Families function much better when the adults of the home get along well and teach their children to treat one another in a manner that creates harmony. Idealistically, trying to make others happy would make the world a better place; however, in reality, trying to please people who will never be pleased only makes life miserable.

Magna Sententia Mondays: “Do Something That Pleases You”

Every Monday, we explore a concept of Magna Sententia.

Today’s Axiom:

The Axiom Of Responsibility

Individuals Demonstrate Valid Behavior

By Taking Responsibility

For Themselves And Their Children

The following is an excerpt from Magna Sententia: The Logical Cure for Our Society by Anna and Ellie Sherise:

Do Something That Pleases You Every Day

You would like to exercise, but you already have too many commitments. You love to cook, but your schedule is always so tight that most nights you have to pick up fast food or throw dinner together. It is quite frustrating when you feel that you can never do what you want to do. Therefore, a great way to take care of yourself is to do something that pleases you for at least thirty minutes every single day. Even if you only have a small amount of time for yourself, taking that time allows you to relax and think more clearly.

You can take a nap, go on a bike ride, sit in the park and read a good book, or look through your favorite magazine while sipping hot chocolate. It is up to you. If this advice sounds impractical, realize that assuming you sleep eight hours each night, thirty minutes a day amounts to only three percent of your waking hours. You are worth three percent of your day!

Magna Sententia Mondays: “You Are Really Not That Special”

Every Monday, we explore a concept of Magna Sententia.

Today’s Axiom:

The Axiom Of Respect

Individuals Demonstrate Valid Behavior

By Treating Themselves And Others

Respectfully And Respecting

Only Those Who Earn It

The following is an excerpt from Magna Sententia: The Logical Cure for Our Society by Anna and Ellie Sherise:

You Are Really Not That Special

Many people today have an inflated sense of self that verges on absurd. This harmful phenomenon is often the result of the pervasive “everyone gets a gold star” mentality that has severely damaged an entire generation and is literally ruining more children every day. Based on this philosophy, everyone must be equally acknowledged, no matter who they are or what they do: Resident benchwarmers receive a trophy at the end of the season. Valedictorians are not honored for fear of hurting their fellow students’ self-esteem. Children are passed through school without learning required skills because failing them or holding them back would permanently damage their self-concept.

Ironically, the “everybody gets a gold star” mentality does not even accomplish its intended goal. Give out all the gold stars you want to, but it will not change the fact that some people really are more attractive, intelligent, and talented than others, and everybody knows it. It is futile and damaging to pretend that everyone is the same since an inflated sense of self that denies the obvious destroys credibility. In addition, if everyone is special, then no one is special. This promotes mediocrity and kills the incentive to work hard developing the positive traits that distinguish one individual from another.

All of us cannot be special for identical reasons or at identical times, and not everyone is special. Being a friend to yourself means liking yourself, even if you are not the best at anything. You do not have to be special to be a kind, thoughtful, and loving human being. Furthermore, kind, thoughtful, and loving human beings are much more valuable to society than individuals who believe they are special when they are not. Like yourself for who you are: Find what you are good at or enjoy, and refrain from comparing yourself to others and their accomplishments. Try, even if you fail, as failure is okay, even when everyone else succeeds. If you do not give up, you will gain strength and learn persistence.