The Four Aspects Of Being And Nature

“Every human has four endowments — self awareness, conscience, independent will, and creative imagination. These give us the ultimate human freedom… The power to choose, to respond, to change.”

– Stephen Covey

The four roles of leadership that Dr. Covey presented were linked to the four basic aspects of humanity, and what he referred to as the four goals of life. To love is the primary goal of our hearts, and as leaders, we direct the flow of our lives to what we love. To learn is the activity of our mind, and as leaders, we coach others based on what we know. To live is why we have a body, and as leaders, we support our community with good health and enjoyable activities. And to leave a legacy, our spirit goes on beyond us, and our leadership is delegated to future generations.

Yet these parts of ourselves are also reflective of the natural elements that comprise us.

For instance, while the heart represents our emotional body, it is also the muscle that ensures our physical body has a constant flow of blood, comprised largely of water. When water evaporates, it forms clouds in the air, and according to comic strips, that’s where our mind gets its best ideas. Obviously, our body is made of earth and will return to it. And our spirit is the fire that gives us the energy to live.

While this is largely metaphorical, it is a metaphor that has run throughout a number of traditions and helped to build our cultural understanding in a variety of ways.