What is a Maxim?

A Short Statement of Truth or Conduct

Maxim: by Webster’s definition, a maxim is a short statement that expresses a general truth or rule of conduct. When living life, these maxims are small nuggets of reminders that can pack a powerful punch. Just like stories were used to share history and pass along important lessons, truths, like maxims, were shared to be passed on from generation to generation.

My daughter learned about maxims in school this last year, and it gave us a lot of great conversation points.  Her maxim she was assigned had to be memorized; she had to write an essay on what it meant and present it to her class: “Better to be late than never, but better still to never be late.”

Part of the GSD Factor life is being inquisitive and learning something from everything.  What I was confronted with after this school assignment is that my family and I wanted to be more intentional and do better about being on time.  It’s one of those traits that I’m not proud of; it’s definitely a work in progress, but I’m glad we were able to identify, discuss, and apply this as a family.  The maxim has become part of our daily lives, and we are striving individually and collectively to do better.

It also brought up the conversation around whether “Get shit done” or “Get stuff done” are maxims.  I think they’re certainly mottos to live by as they show drive, motivation, and determination.  It’s a growth mindset that says whatever I set my mind to, I can and will do it.  It’s an attitude that says, through confidence and perseverance, I will show up on the good days and the bad days.  The GSD Factor life of confidence, inquisitiveness, imagination, presence, resilience, and influence is another degree of this because when you activate these attributes, you are able to GSD.

So I leave you with this, what maxim do you need to work towards in this season in your life?  What truth do you want to improve?  Is there a maxim or truth that is your life motto?