What you do reflects who you are

  • Published
  • By Col. Joseph Zahn
  • 615th Contingency Response Wing vice commander
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  The decisions you make in all facets of everyday life say so much about who you are as a person. Regardless of where you fit within society and the Air Force family, your actions reflect positively or negatively on you and those closest to you.

So why do people make good and bad decisions? First, the obvious: Personal decisions are largely the product of one's upbringing ... their family and its values. Equally as important, one's daily environment is full of societal factors that play a significant role in why we do what we do. Let's take a deeper look at who we are and why.

I feel it's very important to begin by saying there is no best or right answer to how a family should instill values into its children. It is certainly not my place to say what beliefs are most politically correct. Family values are a social fact of life and believed to be the nucleus to what holds a family together both morally and ethically.

There are countless ways to slice the family value pie. They are driven by religious beliefs and ethnic backgrounds, affected by a class structure and geographic norms and even motivated by one's political affiliation...are you more conservative or liberal in your thoughts and actions?

Regardless of how or where you were raised, arguably the most significant role in why you make the choices you do is based on your family values ingrained in you as child. So face it, you're stuck with them!

The second major factor in why we are who we are is the environment in which we find ourselves. For most of us here at Travis, our daily activities and choices revolve around the Air Force way of life. Being affiliated with our great Air Force gives us the opportunity to strive to live under a set of values known as core values.

By attempting to live up to these standards, we are shaping who we are. For instance, under our first core value Integrity First, each Airman should make every effort to live his or her life honorably, with courage and conviction. The decisions one makes, even when no one is watching, says a lot about who you are. And whether you always tell the truth, accept responsibility for your actions, and respect oneself and others is a reflection of who you are.

Under the second Core Value, Service Before Self, an Airman's ability to place their duties as a professional above his or her personal desires and follow rules even when they may not be popular says a great deal about who they are. Finally, with our third core value Excellence in All We Do in mind, the way we wear our uniform, strive for personal fitness, and look for continuous process improvements paints a true picture of who we are.

So whether you're active duty, Guard or Reserve, civilian or a military dependant, living by a set of values such as the Air Force's core values of Integrity, Service, and Excellence shows you're committed to making good choices and solid decisions. Always remember, what you do is a reflection of who you are!