Sweat and Modesty

It could seem that our lives go by between a sweet and arduous monotony, except when passions increase our productivity and when the possible excesses force us into a modest retreat.

We go from being fierceful actors to modest audiences depending of the circumstances that hound us and the opportunities that present themselves. In politics, as in our professional and private lives, it is important to strike a balance between sweat and modesty. Hyperactive cultures, such as the Huns or Romans, end up getting into trouble. The excessively sweaty alpha males always end up in trouble. Extremely fiery love lives are unsustainable. Like fine cars, spirited passions, cause too much overheating and melted motors, because when we are in more of a hurry than other people, traffic jams and bottlenecks, end up debilitating us undeservingly.

On the other hand, if modesty is a virtue for fifteen year olds and old maids trying to create a sense of scarcity and promote the burning desires of he who cannot posses us, too much modesty causes dangerous problems like excess passion and sweat. As is the case in managing personal impulses, countries, and the people that inhabit them, need to develop personal conscience and institutional mechanisms in order to balance the two opposing and frictional forces.

Northern hemisphere countries, with more survival experience than those in the South, have understood the importance of balancing expansion and mediation forces. Many have adopted constitutions and political systems with division of powers. Companies, in spite of the abuses observed amongst many abusive and narcissistic managers, have directors and shareholders that eventually can take control and call for modesty in an effort to control excesses. Advanced political systems and mature institutions are by no means perfect, in part because the only way to evolve is by finding and correcting new abuses. Errors and correction allow us to improve our processes over time and fortify our rationality and competence.

In the South we tend to be a little more exaggerated in everything: hyperactive or hyperpasive. Either we sweat too much or we are too demure and modest. The Satiro or the Virgen are mistakenly idealized images of human behavior. Witches and saints are still entrenched in the fabric of society. To reconcile both tendencies, we believe in miracles.

If we observe ideal routines for personal and institutional longevity, an hour and a half a day of sweating is enough. The same goes for modesty, an hour and a half should be enough. Sweating includes exercise, acts of leadership and creativity, and vigorously loving activities. Modesty should include some 90 minutes of humility, generosity, meditation and empathy…if we add to that 8 hours of sleep, three for eating and one for transitions, that leaves us five hours of peaceful, dedicated and responsible work, without sweat or modesty.