24 January 2023 | Trust blog
Diligence is a really important quality and behaviour to me. It can be defined as the steady, earnest and persistent application of work to achieve a goal and is also a mindset to do things properly. n this way, diligence may rather be regarded as a combination of both hard work and patience because being persistent requires patience.
In addition, being diligent means having high standards for yourself and others; doing what you say you are going to do and doing it to the best of your abilities. This is why this behaviour is so crucial to how we work as team, since it means we can rely on everyone in our trust to have the same care, aspirations and set of standards in the work they will undertake. It is centred in a conscientiousness which means that people are reliable and therefore trusted.
Being diligent is cited in almost all world religions for the very reason that an approach to work and life should be rooted in care and application; that we should all be string to be our best selves and to do our best work. In Buddhism, diligence is the third pāramitā and the first said to lead to liberation, and it is said that its practice brings an increase of qualities. In Christianity, diligence is the effort to do one’s part while keeping faith and reliance in God. In other words, diligence and faith are two sides of a mystery. One does not know how, despite one’s effort, it all works out; but diligence, when combined with faith, assures spiritual success. Diligence as one of seven virtues describes thoroughness, completeness, and persistence of an action, particularly in matters of faith.
Being diligent will make our work and purpose in life more rewarding. When we focus our values on our work and way of being, then we align our beliefs to the outcomes we want to achieve which harmonises our efforts into fulfilment. We know that being diligent is vital to the success of the young people we serve and we must truly believe in this behaviour not just as colleagues but as role models for the next generation- a call to being active, not idle; to trying, not giving up and to achievement not excuses.
