My word — the word I try to live by — is one that finds its origins in ancient Greece: Arete. The ancient Greeks believed that we must all strive to be our very best selves, not just for our own benefit, but because all of us depend on one another. If each individual’s best is not achieved, then others around them must pick up and carry additional weight.

When I used to introduce this philosophy to my former high school students, I always asked them, “How many of you can think of a person you work with that should be fired, or a person on your sports team that should be cut?” As the hands went up, I then asked, “How does their lack of arete impact you?” Their answers always circled the core idea of others having to do more than their fair share of work.

As an educator, my arete includes making sure that every person I interact with knows they are being listened to and that I am always clear in my communication. I work to achieve my arete by listening, thinking, asking questions, and taking the time and using the necessary methods for clear communication. It does not matter if I am volunteering to read books to preschoolers in a local book shop, teaching English to adults, or working with professionals now endowed with the job of sharing their expertise with their own students, my arete is being an engaged, thoughtful, curious communicator, one who is bold enough to take on the challenges and resourceful enough to find the solutions.

What is your guiding word?