BY: A BEHAVIOURAL SCIENTIST
The behaviour and demeanour of a person speaks volumes as it is the gauge by which a person is defined and shaped in opinion by those around him or her and hence the importance of being on our best behaviour
Not only should a person try as best as possible to be on their best behaviour, they must possess those qualities and values that cause them to be someone that people respect, admire and try by themselves to emulate.
People of exemplary behaviour stand out in a crowd because they are not crass or crude but refined and polished in their manners, in the way and manner they conduct themselves and especially in the way they carry themselves..
This is why wise men and women believe that by observing and seeing how a person behaves, especially in front of others or in public, they unwittingly are a dead giveaway of at once revealing their worth and value as a human being.
Therefore is behaviour the be all and end all?
This is an open question because there are many permutations and possibilities to be worked out, and therefore while ultra important, the behaviour of a person is not the be all and end all, but consist of a major sum of the part that makes up of being a human being.
Behaviour, while being ultra important, must be balanced equally with good character and a profound understanding of what life is all about, otherwise a person would not have the education necessary to behave well.
While behaviour is ultra important, other sources of life and living also play their part in ensuring the person would behave well under whatever circumstances, as they would have the understanding and knowledge of how to behave well.
In fact, the greater the stress and pressure exerted on a person, the more excellent their behaviour would be, as they are aware and have that insight on why it is necessary and important to fare well for others to also learn to appreciate good behaviour.
Is faking good behaviour possible?
Good behaviour exudes naturally to a person in an easy, practised and effortless style. Therefore there is no real need for persons of such good behaviour to fake the way they behave as it is unnecessary.
But there are those who are pretenders to the throne, hypocrites who display the behaviour of those who are in the know of good behaviour but the truth of their hypocrisy eventually has a way of coming out.
This means while it is possible to pretend to be a person of good character and fake their way through life and the lives of people around them, ultimately the truth of their true nature would be revealed and they would be discovered as fake individuals.
This leads to shame and humiliation and their fall from grace and it is always the prudent, wise and mature who grow deeper, higher and better in displaying good behaviour as they age in life to the point they are second to none in this world.
Time for those who don’t behave well to change
None of us human beings live forever on this earth and all of us have an expiry date when the departure is made into the hereafter or afterlife and the need to value our lives and behave as well as possible is crucial to us.
In the time and space given to us, in the course of living our lives from cradle to grave, there must be no effort spared or wasted in going about behaving as well as possible and striving for perfection in our behaviour.
Perfect behaviour is impossible to achieve. But nevertheless there must be that resilience within each one of us to always be on our best behaviour and as more people take this path, the world becomes a better place.
This is why there are those who believe good behaviour is the be all and end all,. It is not. But it makes up a great part of education being The Great Equalizer and while attaining perfection is not possible, behaving well is a necessity for all of us.
-THE MALAYSIA VOICE
(The views expressed on this opinion is of the writer and not the publisher)
