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Dilemma 7: Push Versus Pull ■ 147

willpower. As personal judgment is the ultimate tool for
measuring action, there is much appreciation for people who
express their personal moral messages with all their heart.
The idea that virtue is given by birth and thereby an impor-
tant guiding principle is typical in Judeo-Christian cultures.
In fact, it is this conviction that underpins Martin Luther’s
famous saying: “Here I stand; I can do no other.”
In cultures that are externally controlled, that mes-
sage would not be perceived in the same way. Here, people
are led by what comes to them from their environment.
They believe that you can never entirely control some-
thing, and they are, therefore, more fl exible and cautious
by nature. They are keen listeners and come across as quite
modest. First they listen, and only then they talk. The
starting point is cautiousness; only from there are risks
taken. Thus, modesty is favored above willpower. In such
cultures, virtue is perceived as something that is outside
oneself, which one can draw strength from. It lies within
things like natural rhythms, the overwhelming power
of nature, beauty, and relations. These things serve as a
source of inspiration for one’s actions. From this perspec-
tive, the essence of virtue is to be fl exible and adaptive to
social and natural powers.

Double Focus
The crucial questions in this dilemma are as follows: What
drives people? Are they internally motivated and, as such,
operate from the inside out? Or does the inspiration for
their behavior and choices come to them from their envi-
ronment? In reality, both happen. Everyone has an inner
compass that guides him or her. As the examples described
later in this section will clearly confi rm, a complete internal