first things First
The second core value, Be Eager, must come after the first. We must be humble before we are eager, otherwise our eagerness will be misguided. We will find ourselves eager to do all the wrong things. Eager to serve ourselves, instead of eager to serve others.
what does it mean to be eager?
So, what does it mean to be “eager”, and why is it one of our core values? A few synonyms for the word eager include Enthusiastic, Ready, Willing, and Fervent.
Starting with the mindset of a humble servant, we should be anticipating the needs of others. But is it enough to just anticipate their needs? Should it stop there? Does it help if I know what you need, but I don’t do anything about it?
I was hungry
Jesus said, “I was hungry, and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison, and you visited me.” Matthew 25:35-36 Notice what Jesus did not say. He did not say, “I was hungry, and you knew about it.” Recognizing a need is only the first 1%, doing something about it is the other 99.
being eager in the workplace
In our workplace, being eager can take many shapes. We could be eager to give our clients the best service we can provide. Eager to hear what our clients need and want. Eager to give them the solutions they are coming to us for. Eager to try new things when we’re asked to, and eager to stick with what is proven to work when that’s what we’re asked to do.
We could be eager to design something truly amazing, eager to listen to what our clients need so we can find the best solutions, eager to help our fellow teammates find solutions to their problems so our whole team can be successful at every level.
It is not enough to be eager
Something that is important for us to understand, though, is that being eager is not a virtue. Let me say that again. It is not virtuous to be eager. We can, and should, be eager to be virtuous, but someone could, and some are, eager to do what is wrong. Some are even eager to do what is right for the wrong reasons.
Starting from the point of virtue
Eagerness, therefore, is not the goal. The goal is to be virtuous, and eagerness is simply a byproduct of having already attained a measure of the goal. It is a companion to the life of one who grasps that all self-seeking endeavors are fruitless toil. This is why Be Eager is the second of our Core Values, not the first. Humility is a virtue, and if we start from the point of virtue with an attitude of eagerness, then we will do great things. F.H. Bradley says, “To do good for its own sake is virtue”. This is what we should be eager to aspire to.