Be a good person don’t waste time to prove it – Paulo Coelho

Be a good person don’t waste time to prove it: I couldn’t help myself from writing about this lovely Paulo Coelho quote – Be a good person don’t waste time to prove it! This quote has two main parts – the first one being about who we inherently are. Let’s call this the personal image. The second part is about how we appear to the society around us. Let’s call this the public image. Sometimes, these two things are in conflict. However, the most important point to remember is that we have more control on this personal image compared to the public one.

Be a good person but don’t waste time to prove it

Paulo Coelho

Be a good person don’t waste time to prove it

It is a wonderful quote from Paulo Coelho, speaking on multiple levels. I like to believe that we all have goodness in our hearts which keeps telling us what to do. Equally, I have to admit that there’s another sense which encourages us to think that society must perceive us as good as well. This invariably adds a huge amount of pressure on us because it becomes two jobs now.

Ultimately, it is very important to focus on WHY we do the things we do. How it is perceived as only a byproduct. Yes, society will have an opinion, but sometimes society will not be on the same journey as you are. It won’t understand your intentions, you just have to keep your head down and focus on doing the things because it gives you an immense amount of satisfaction and pleasure.

Be a good person

This is the best thing we can do right? But we all have to define what this good person means and how does this person influence others. For some, a good person can be about being the most innovative and successful person on the earth. For others, it might be as simple as being kind and spreading love. This is something you can define for yourself, but make sure that you have a clear idea of what a good person means.

Once you know what being a good person is, you can then focus on how to go about it. What are your touch-points and influences where you can make this happen? This leads us to the practicalities of being a good person.

Don’t waste time in proving that you’re good

This always fails. When you start explaining, people will immediately think that you’re guilty and trying to cover up something. This is a game that you’ll never win – instead, there are more possibilities of failure. Also, this distracts you from the primary goal of being good. If you are a celebrity or have loads of money, perhaps you can hire someone to maintain your social image.

• Does this allow you to be free and let your personality identify what its needs are?
• Will this feeling restrain you and your emotions – adding a feeling of pressure to perform or be something because society expects you to be?
• Are you being fair to your own emotions in the process of proving something?