continually referenced throughout the poem, as when the reader is advised to treat "Triumph and Disaster" in the same way. Finally, no one must be able to harm you significantly, "neither foes nor loving friends."

Self-confidence: You should be able to "trust yourself when all men doubt you."

Tolerance: You should also "make allowance for their doubting" rather than blaming them for it.

Patience: You ought to be able to "wait and not be tired by waiting." You should also be able to rebuild "with worn-out tools," the things that you have built and others have destroyed.

Honesty: You must not lie, even if others lie about you. You must also be able to "keep your virtue" even in the face of the corrupting crowd.

Modesty: Although you have shown superiority through all the virtues mentioned above, do not "look too good, nor talk too wise." You also need to be able to retain "the common touch," even in the company of kings.

Courage and Tenacity: You have to be able to "force your heart and nerve and sinew" to bear what appears to be past bearing and continue to "hold on" through the force of sheer willpower.

Industry: You should be able to get the most out of every "unforgiving minute."

A didactic poem, Rudyard Kipling's "If" is meant to give instructions on what constitutes a leader and true manhood.

Stanza I 

• integrity -"trust yourself when all men doubt you"
• patience- "make allowance for their doubting"
• honesty - "don't deal in lies"
• modesty -"don't look too good, nor talk too wise"

Stanza II

• creativity (with discipline) - "dream..."
• reasonableness - "think, but not make thoughts your aim"
• fortitude - "meet with triumph and disaster...."
• work ethic - "and stoop and build 'em up..."

Stanza III

•  unworldliness - "If you can make one heap of all your winnings/And risk it on one turn..."
• courage - "And lose, and start again...."

Stanza IV

• integrity - "If you can talk with crowds and keep your virture...."
• humility - "Or walk with kings- nor lose the common touch...."
• love - "If all men count with you"
• virtue/meekness - "Yours is the Earth...."

By the use of paradox, Kipling accomplishes his instruction:  attachment with detachment, righteousness without self-righteousness, etc.  The lesson is to have balance in one's life.  Perhaps, Kipling's experiences in India influenced his writing of this poem as there is the prevalent teaching of Buddism here:  the quest for the Middle Way in the quest for spiritual enlightenment.

There are many moral values that Kipling makes reference to in the poem “If”.   In the very first stanza of the poem, he states,

         “If you can keep your head when all about you /
          Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,” (lines 1-2)

In these two lines, Kipling is discussing the value of staying calm and relaxed when faced with difficult situations.

Lines 3 and 4 begin a new value which is believing in yourself when others do not, but, at the same time, being aware that others doubt you.  In these lines he states,
         ” If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
           But make allowance for their doubting too” (lines 3-4)

Continuing on in the same stanza, Kipling says,
         “If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
          Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
          Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
         And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise.”  (lines 5-8)

Here, he looks at a few different values; line 5 talks about the virtue of patience; line 6 warns the reader not to lie or deal with anyone who does lie.  In line 7 Kipling would like his reader to think about the implications of hating or loathing another.  The final line of this stanza is quite possibly the most important when dealing with values these days and tells the reader that he/she should not try to show off but be more modest in his/her ways.   

The values of the poem are old-fashioned, conservative, and even aristocratic. Kipling comes by all these values honestly.  Recall that he was born in British India and spent parts of his life in England, America, and South Africa.  He was an educated aristocrat who achieved fame and influence in his life.  For more about Kipling's family and biography, see the link below.  What I have called "aristocratic" values include courage, risk-taking, self-discipline, leadership, the "stiff upper lip," hard work, taking responsibility, and stoicism.

Besides aristocratic values, the poem also has a sub-theme of democratic values.  Kipling was a warm-hearted man who loved, not hated, India, unlike our stereotype of the colonial British.  What I have called "democratic" values include humility, respect for everyone, not returning evil for evil, and egalitarianism.

Here is a list of values with quotes from the poem:

• courage/fortitude: "If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew ..."
• risk-taking: "If you can make one heap of all your winnings ..."
• self-discipline: All the behaviors described in the poem require self-discipline.
• leadership: "If you can keep your head ..." and "If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken ..." both describe situations usually encountered by leaders.  There is also "talk with crowds ... walk with Kings" which seem to assume a person with some power and influence.
• the "stiff upper lip": "And never breathe a word about your loss." This value is less about having no feelings than about not displaying your feelings publicly nor complaining about your losses and hardships.   Contrast it with stoicism, below, which is not quite the same thing.
• hard work: "If you can fill the unforgiving minute ..." 
• taking responsibility: "If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken ..." is about sticking to your policies rather than blame-shifting.  "Stoop to build 'em up with worn-out tools" is about starting over when your work has had a setback through no fault of your own.  In this case, the person is taking responsibility for work that is theirs to do, although the need for the work is someone else's fault.
• stoicism: Stoicism is a Greek value that involves actually not caring too much about any one thing or person. It is a cold, self-protective value, and it clashes somewhat with the warm, democratic values below.  "If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster ..." implies that a person should be unmoved no matter what happens.  "If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,/If all men count with you, but none too much" is another stoic value.  The idea is that we should not care about another person enough that mistreatment from them could possibly shake our inner calm.  I doubt that, in real life, Kipling achieved this state in its pure form.  
• humility: "But make allowance for their doubting too."  This line calls us to be confident, but still able to recognize that we can be wrong.  Also, is is impossible to "not return evil for evil" without being humble.
• respect for everyone: "If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,/Or walk with Kings -- nor lose the common touch"
• not returning evil for evil: "Or being hated, don't give way to hating"  This value was most clearly articulated by Jesus.
• egalitarianism: "And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise."  Egalitarians always take care not to look better than other people, not to stand out from the crowd. 

It is amazing the number of values that Kipling sketched in this poem. Trying to live up to it could take a lifetime.