Magnanimity is a virtue that means “greatness of soul.”
It means aspiring to greatness but doing so with humility, with a willingness to suffer and with a willingness to serve.
Our culture celebrates both prideful vain ambition and the acceptance of mediocrity.
Both of these are flawed.
Ambition for the sake of recognition is hollow.
Mediocrity is wasteful and doesn’t leave you feeling contented but makes you feel like you are missing something crucial.
What we need in the 21st century is a renewed focus on the virtue of magnanimity where people reject the temptation of mediocrity, do the hard work to seek greatness but are willing to humbly bear the burdens of life.
Greatness With Humility
Greatness does not have to mean fame, fortune, instagram followers and arrogant self promotion.
Greatness is about nobly pursuing your skills and talents to the fullest extent of your ability.
You should be striving to be a better person who makes a bigger contribution to your family, your workplace and your society.
But this can and should come with humility. Pursuing greatness is not about receiving adulation for achievements. It is about quietly and graciously pursuing excellence.
Often the pursuit of greatness comes with significant burdens.
It is for this reason that many people quit – things get too hard.
But to achieve your potential you need to be prepared to accept hardship and persevere when things get tough.
Rejecting Mediocrity
It is all too easy in an era of material abundance to adopt an ideology that promotes mediocrity.
In fact, our culture constantly bombards you with messages that you should limit your aspirations and that you should be content with what you have.
Our culture tells you that aspiration is greedy and privileged and that you should stay in your comfort zone.
But the world needs its citizens to be great. We can’t just sit back in the 21st century and live off the fruits of our forefathers without any drive to better the world and our own lives.
We need inventors, entrepreneurs and workers. We need people to take risks, to develop new solutions to our problems and to work hard to make the world a better place.
The world also needs fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers. We need strong families and strong communities. We need people to be prepared to make the sacrifices necessary at the family and community level in order that society can flourish.
The world needs you to be at your best.
Reject mediocrity and adopt magnanimity.
Leading With Magnanimity
The world needs magnanimous leaders both in business and in politics.
Leaders with vision and aspiration who put themselves second and the needs of their organisations first. Leaders with empathy, integrity and kindness.
People can spot a self-serving leader a mile away. It is why so many are distrustful of politicians. There is a feeling that many are not there to serve the nation with integrity but to further their own career and financial aspirations.
While there is no quick way to replace all our self-serving leaders with magnanimous ones, there is one thing you can control.
Yourself.
You can make an effort to develop your own character and lead with magnanimity in whatever sphere of influence you have.
Conclusion
Magnanimity is a virtue that we should all aspire to.
It’s not easy to do, nothing worthwhile ever is.
But it’s needed, perhaps now more than ever.
While difficult, growing in magnanimity is actually quite liberating. You just throw yourself into whatever it is you are doing with maximum effort but without the pressure of needing results or recognition.
