Our personal development experiences have quite a major influence in the behaviors that we acquire and in the manner in which we treat other people as well as associate with them. When positive experiences happen in our lives, there is a high possibility that we gain confidence in ourselves. As such, we can freely and readily engage in activities that call for interaction with other people, since we feel quite at ease. Similarly, after a horrible or demeaning experience, there is a possibility that our self esteem and confidence is badly affected on the negative. For instance, Gregory (1) indicates that since he suffered a humiliating experience in his classroom one day, he felt so low for quite a long time. In fact it took him over twenty years to get over that awful experience.
Bullock and Jamieson (2) also air the same views as Gregory. They claim that the experiences that an individual go through are very vital in their psychological perceptions of self. As such, the behaviors illustrated by the individual can easily indicate the environment or experiences under which the individual was brought up. For instance, an individual who was brought up while facing constant criticism and harassment can be withdrawn, antisocial, nervous or uneasy. On the contrary, an individual brought up in a loving, encouraging and supportive environment tends to be more sociable, friendly and free to associate with others. As such, parents should be careful about the conditions and environments under which they bring up their children as this can easily determine the kind of people that the children would become in future.
Every man has a role to play and a responsibility to contribute to fellow humanity. This responsibility should be accomplished well in time and in the appropriate manner. This responsibility does not have to be coerced (Gregory, 1). Rather, the feeling of being useful to the society should spring from within an individual. However, there are also some responsibilities that an individual has to fulfill to his fellow man under any circumstances (IMS, 1). These responsibilities that man should fulfill to fellow men are mostly religious or social. For instance, IMS (5) indicates that an individual should have sympathy and empathy. That is, everyone should be in a position to identify with a situation that a fellow man is going through. After identifying with it, the next step should be action. This is where the individual does something in a bid to make better the situation of the other. This is the aspect that many term as ‘being a brother’s keeper’.
These interventions and assistance should also be timely as late action could make little or no difference. For instance, Gregory (5) indicates that he once went to a food joint where a wino came by, ate and declared that he had no money. The owner of the food joint reacted by physically assaulting the wino, while Gregory watched helplessly. Of course, Gregory had sympathy for the wino but his action to pay was very late as the wino had already suffered his deal of humiliation. As such, the narration by Gregory asserts one thing: if you have the ability to assist a fellow human being, do not wait to be pushed to do it. Rather, you should identify the need and take the necessary action to fulfill it.
Works Cited
Bullock, Kate; Jamieson, Ian. The Effect of Development Planning on Attitudes, Behavior, and Understanding. 1995. Educational Studies, Vol. 21(3), pp. 307-321.
Gregory, Dick. Shame. N.d. Web, 12th March 2012, http://www.gibbsmagazine.com/Shame.htm
IMS Media. Man’s Duty to His Fellow Men. 2011. Web, March 12th 2012, http://www.imsmedia.org/online-books/ellen-white-books/testimonies-vol3/1108-mans-duty-to-his-fellow-men
