Learning From Lincoln - The traits that make or break leaders
From Lincoln to the Dalai Lama, the pinnacle of wisdom is always compassion
Published on February 19, 2013 by Russell Razzaque, M.D. in Political Intelligence
There were doubtless many heroic moments in the life of Abraham Lincoln and many
chapters of his life from which we could learn, but Spielberg chose to pick a particular
cross roads of his Presidency and honed in on it in great detail. It was a time when
Lincoln’s star was rising and, as his wife beseeched him, if he allowed himself to rest
on his successes at that point, the rest of his life would have been so much easier,
and perhaps longer too. But popularity is not what drove Lincoln. Against the advice of
his wife and virtually the entirety of his cabinet – not to mention most of his party –
Lincoln was determined to press on with legislation to amend the constitution to reflect
the abolition of slavery. He was attempting no less than to defy political gravity at the
time, but it was a cause he knew he had to fight for.
Our best actions in life come about, not when we are calculating the odds of victory or
success, but when we are doing what we know in our heart to be right. In other words,
when our actions are rooted in compassion. Watching the movie reminded me of
words from the famous “Do It Anyway” poem by mother Teresa; “If you are kind,
people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway… The good you
do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.”
When we are being authentically compassionate, we may not know that we will be
successful or achieve the full extent of our ambitions, but we will always know that
what we are doing is right. As Lincoln’s successor – a man whose very administration
would not have been possible without Lincoln’s passing of the 13th amendment – said
in a recent speech, when we are acting from love for those more vulnerable and less
fortunate than us, we should know that are always right. It is then, Obama said, that
we experience “a love that takes us out of ourselves and binds us to something larger,
we know that's what matters. We know we're always doing right when we’re…
showing acts of kindness. We don't go wrong when we do that.”
As the Dalai Lama put it, “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you
want to be happy, practice compassion.”