The Virtue of All Achievement Is Victory over One’s Self: Those Who Know This Will Never Know Defeat

By Dr. Wayne E. Whaley

t is a question we all grapple with: how do we live virtuous, happy lives? We must first develop virtuous tendencies. Living virtuously is a path that we must decide to walk and cultivate. The acquisition of behaviors showing high moral standards is the key for achieving and becoming victorious in all things.

The Virtue of All Achievement Is Victory Over One’s Self will help you see yourself as a winner, equipped with the skills to overcome obstacles. With God’s help, this book will enable you to focus on the life that He intended you to live. God has given each of us tools to succeed, and through refinement and practice, we can master these tools.

By utilizing philosophy, history, and scripture, author Dr. Wayne E. Whaley invites you to understand that failure is a fact of life but not a way of life. Living virtuously is the difference between becoming an achiever or wallowing in regret.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Feb 5, 2020
• ISBN: 9781973682882

Dr. Wayne E. Whaley

Dr. Whaley has written many articles and a book, before this one. He Has traveled throughout the United States and to foreign countries. Also, Dr.Whaley spent many tears working in various phases of the American Education System. He has developed, organized, and taught at various levels of the educational system, including graduate and post-graduate Universities.

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PART I

It Begins with Us

CHAPTER 1

Virtuous

To many, being virtuous means being good, excellent, righteous, and responsible. Virtue is the quality of our character, which used to be common in our culture. Virtue is not barring any person; it is learned to a degree from birth until death.

A person’s life is the sum total of their virtues. Various situations of the stages of life shape some of our basic virtues. Since virtues are acquired through the experiences a person has throughout life and in their environment, we know of no one who has acquired all virtues except Jesus.

The virtue of honesty is a great example of a virtue that is acquired over time. For example, a young person may lie in order to protect themselves from consequences. Their parents might have instilled honesty in them over time and taught them about truthfulness. However, the young person might be convinced by others not to tell the truth or to tell a lie.

Siblings, because of their actions, could face serious consequences for not listening to their parents. On the other hand, if they listen to their parents, maybe they will learn that honesty is a good virtue to prevent consequences that might have a lifelong effect. They might understand that lying is not in the individual’s best interest. It is hoped that an individual will feel it is their responsibility to tell the truth and that being dishonest will produce consequences that are not part of their parental teaching and might reflect their family and its virtues.

To achieve one’s destiny, one must become virtuous. The virtues of prudence and justice are closely related since good judgment and fairness are closely aligned. These virtues are closely related because one cannot exist without the other.

It demands no small amount of prudence to see whether anything is just or unjust. For example, piety toward God is the beginning of understanding. To live a life of virtue, we must do those things by faith that please God. And besides this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge (2 Peter 1:5 NKJV).

People should think about what they are going to say before they say it and consider the appropriateness for their audience. The most respect a person can give someone else is to speak to them as if they are talking to God.

Temperance is how a person reacts to a situation and decides to handle different situations. A virtuous person can judge whether a situation is just or unjust. There are many ways for people to know if they are living virtuously or acquiring the knowledge to act in an acceptable manner.

For many people, being virtuous is learned from others. The media shows virtuous ways of living every day. The media has a tremendous influence on how people behave, whether it is by news stories, movies, television, or social media. They greatly influence the types of virtues an individual will work to obtain. People tend to follow the crowd, which can cause tension between people.

According to Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher, individuals are not born virtuous—and they do not turn virtuous overnight. Aristotle further surmised that individuals must practice virtues until they become second nature. Seeking victory implies overcoming difficulties. This often implies a struggle, and the term struggle goes to the hearts of many.

Good-hearted people like to support those who struggle because people feel obliged to send their money, write letters of support, and give tokens of affection. When setting forth objectives for any particular struggle in pursuit of a victory, it is paramount to decide who is trying to win the struggle.

Nowadays, virtue is a good quality that causes humans to help each other and act for the good of all. It is paramount that we acknowledge each other as humans because our fortunes are tied together as humans. There is no guarantee of one’s success in life, but acquiring virtues over time increases the likelihood of success in life. We don’t automatically become virtuous, but we can acquire virtues.

A virtue can be defined as many things to many people, but for most of us, a virtue is simply the foundation of humanity. In other words, a virtue is a standard by which we judge and standardize our behaviors and characteristics based on moral excellence. Each unique virtue depends on each unique individual on the planet. It also depends how individuals channel and predicate their emotions. Virtue depends on a person’s lifestyle and the culture they are a part of.

Since we all have different beliefs about what is good or bad, our virtues or standards are what make each of us different. For example, a citizen of Rome would have high standards and virtues based on military values. This isn’t the best and most enjoyable method of establishing virtues since it is strict and harsh, and most virtuous lifestyles consist of a golden-mean style by Aristotle. He believed that virtues in the middle of two extremes are the most desirable in various situations.

Aristotle’s golden mean theory was a forerunner of the Goldilocks theory, in which Goldilocks found the porridge that was just right, and the earth seems just right for living creatures. In addition, the earth seems to be the ideal distance from the sun for water. Venus is too close to the sun and too hot to have flowing water on its surface.

Many philosophers view virtues and how they relate to humankind differently. Socrates and Plato believed that virtue was a sort of knowledge that was required to reach the ultimate good, or eudaimonia, which is what all humans desire and aim to achieve.

Other philosophers, especially non-Western moral and religious philosophers, including Confucius in ancient China, also believed in an optimistic view of humankind. They incorporated the ideals of the ancient Greeks. The Chinese ethical thought makes an explicit connection between virtue and politics. Greek ideas about virtue were later incorporated into Christian moral theology, particularly by St. Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologies of 1274 and in his Commentaries on Nicomachean Ethics. The Christian virtues were based primarily on the seven virtues from Aurelius Clemens Prudentius. These virtues included chastity, temperance, diligence, kindness, patience, and humility.

The practice of these seven virtues contrasted with the seven deadly sins: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride. In the twentieth century, Paul Ricoeur was recognized as one of the great individuals who basically explained the concept of oneself as another in Oneself as Another, which was published in 1992. Ricoeur’s book suggests hermeneutics or the hermeneutics of suspicions. A common spirit pervades the writings of Marx, Freud, and Nietzsche. These authors helped Ricoeur develop his conceptual framework for Oneself as Another.

The main idea of this book is using hermeneutics to view your own self. Virtue by definition is the moral excellence of a person over time, which can be thought of as viewing yourself over time. This is vital for self-control since Ricoeur stresses the importance of philosophical and methodological principles of interpretation.

All universal virtues must have a classification system since character is the sum of the virtues that one possesses. Humans gravitate toward strong character and positive virtues. We need to distinguish character from related notions, and we need to subdivide character into components. This task has been done thousands and thousands of times, and it is easy and not new. Moral philosophers, theologians, legislators, teachers, parents, sportswriters, and many others have resisted the temptation to articulate a definitive list of virtues that constitute a well-lived life.

The ultimate danger of creating a list of virtues is that they would be biased and not culturally representative of the 8.5 billion people on this planet. For this reason and others, it is good to look at what traits bind people together around the world. In addition, in literature, what traits do different cultures value over time? Most societies value qualities benefit their culture, people, society, and each other. The particular qualities varied from society to society, but the virtues applied to each society. These time-tested virtues, as chosen by each society, became the basis of that society and its inhabitants. As a result, the direction of that society has been predestined for centuries.

The testing of societal virtues is an ongoing process. This process may be increased or decreased, depending on those events that may have had a consequential effect upon that society. This may include war, drought, disease, or societal catastrophes that changed the fabric of the society. The changes in the fabric of a society can change the behavior, their folkways, and more. The fabric of a society produces qualities that change the configurations and control societal virtues, which become various virtues over time.

There are many views about virtuous living and virtuous life. In a letter to the Philippians, Paul said, My brother, your thoughts should be wholly directed to all that is true, all that deserves respect, all that is honest, pure, admirable, decent, virtuous or worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8 NKJV). As such, the classic definition of virtue is a habit or firm disposition that inclines a person to do good and avoid evil.

Four cardinal virtues formulate the basis for all virtues. These four cardinal virtues help forge Christian character and motivate a person to become godlike. The practice and development of the four cardinal virtues are essential to anyone’s spiritual life, but this is easier said than done.

Being the poor victims of original sin, we may have difficulties living virtuous lives. Therefore, we need the abundant graces our Lord offers through prayer, the frequent reception of the sacraments, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Looking to the example of the saints and invoking their prayers also strengthen our resolution for holiness. We must never forget the Lord’s challenge that one must be made perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect.

Virtuous cycles can reassert the age-old adage that being successful inspires individuals to be successful. As such, virtuous cycles are about building on past successes. Most people understand that building on one’s existing strengths is a more powerful strategy than compensating for one’s perceived weaknesses.

Strong feedback will spur us to repeat positive actions. Starting a good habit only requires a nudge in the right direction, and momentum will do the rest of the work. Habits can increase many conceptual frameworks to achieve virtues, creativity, and other opportunities the future will bring.

A virtue is mostly understood and used until it becomes part of a person’s personality through utilizing one’s formation of using habits as a positive developmental tool. Habits are repetitive acts. They can be considered positive, repetitive acts that culminate in a sustained behavior that may become part of one’s natural behaviors. The resultant effect is virtuous behavior.

CHAPTER 2

What Is Achievement?

A plausible definition would be that achievement is the art of achieving or the art of ambition. Achievement is a universal word for people. Regardless of your nationality, achievement remains the same. The French translate achievement as atteinte. The Dutch use verworvenheld. The Germans use erfolg. Swahili uses mafanikia. Achievement is not a form of luck, as some individuals think it is, or a form of being in the right place at the right time.

Dr. Richard Wiseman The Luck Factor: The Scientific Study Of The Mind claims that good luck or bad luck in our lives depends to a large extent on the ways we think and our states of mind. Lucky people transform bad luck into opportunities, which explains how the secret to success is constancy of purpose.

In looking at achievement, it is obvious that achievement is dependent upon one’s view of success. Daniel Coyle’s The Talent Code explains how achievement is about developing skills and myelin insulation that wraps neural circuits and grows according to certain signals. The signals can be as simple as developing muscles. Coyle’s thoughts are unique in the world of achievement because they require hard work, mental struggle, and attention to detail. It is interesting to visualize a route to that talent code. These talent codes help explain achievement in all humans. One of the ultimate achievement levels is explained by Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth: Awakening Your Life’s Purpose.

More than 98 percent of individuals live their entire lives unaware of themselves and without becoming self-actualized. According to Tolle, ego is the core of his book. Tolle explains how to find your life’s purpose. He says, Life is the dancer and you are the dance, The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but your thoughts about it, and Awareness is the greatest each for change.

Achievement is most commonly associated with a letter grade, a percentile, a standardized mean, or another metric. Achievement typically measures an externally imposed standard. Accomplishment typically describes an internally motivated goal.

The internal measurable motivation, which leads