Altar Call – Opelika-Auburn News
August 31, 2008
Ten principles that serve well as a guide for
living
Sometime
ago I jotted down some of the maxims or sayings by which I have tried to live
my life. Then I cut the list down to my top ten. These I decided to call the ten guiding
principles of my life. As I glance back over my shoulder, I realize these
“proverbs” have guided me well.
These
principles are not new or profound. Some of them no doubt you have also chosen
to live by. As you mull them over, know that I shall be pleased if you find one
or two which might be helpful in your own life. Here they are:
One, live your life in chapters. The rings in a tree tell the story of that tree. Each
ring is a chapter of sorts. In reading a book I often look ahead to find out
the length of the chapter I am reading. In life we all have times of
transition, pain, and change. We cannot always choose the circumstances of our
lives, but we can choose to put down a period and conclude some experience. We
can put an end to one thing and begin something new. We may have a chapter of
discouragement, but we can decide that it is over and begin a new chapter of
celebration.
Two, make progress, not perfection, your goal. Refuse to burden yourself with the demand for
perfection in everything. Instead, aim to make a little progress each day, and
be at peace about your imperfections. Living as a "perfectionist" is
not good for yourself, your family, or your friends. Perfectionism will not
only drive your friends away, it will drive you nuts.
Three, learn to celebrate "excellent"
mistakes. You will make mistakes; we
all do. But when you make one, especially a big one, recognize it as being so
excellent that you want to remember not to make it again. To “celebrate it”
means to inject a little humor into your guilt so that you can laugh at yourself
and invite others to laugh with you. Such celebration helps you emerge as the
victor instead of the victim.
Four, eliminate "if only" from your
vocabulary. When we indulge in the
use of "if onlys," we are simply dodging our responsibility for a
problem. Decide never again to begin a sentence with "if only."
Substitute the word, "because." Here’s an example: "Because I am
in charge of my life, I will not resort to whining or self-pity. I made a
mistake but I will do better next time.”
Five, refuse to blame other people for your problems. How you react to what other people do and say is
more important than what they do and say. You cannot control what other people
do; you can decide how you will respond to their behavior. Accept the fact that
sometimes you are your own biggest problem, so give other people a break and
work on yourself. You are your own worst enemy. Accept that and life will get
easier.
Six, accept the imperfections of other people. This will help you not to blame them when things go
wrong. Take for granted what is obvious. Other people are like you and me;
sometimes then will say things that are insensitive and stupid. Do others the
same favor you do for yourself: accept the fact that we are imperfect people
living in an imperfect world. When others do not measure up to your
expectations, remember this and relax. It is perfectly alright to be wrong
sometimes.
Seven, live no day without laughter. Humor is so important that we must look for it
constantly. If you are having a really bad day, find something funny you can
share with others to get a good laugh. Here is a “good laugh” for today:
A
grandmother was sick and in bed. Her five-year-old grandson fixed her a cup of
coffee. It tasted awful but she forced it down because she loved the boy. As
she was sipping the last of the cup, she noticed two little green plastic
soldiers in the bottom of her cup. "Why on earth are these things in my
coffee," she asked, exasperated. "You know, grandmother," he
said, "it’s like on TV -- ‘the best part of waking up is soldiers in your
cup!’ "
Eight, smile and move on when people rain on your
parade. There is always somebody
around who feels compelled to put a damper on anything you say. Explain that
you bought something at a bargain and someone will say that you paid far too
much for it. In this situation your best response is a smile. Move on and
forget it. Don’t let the jerk in the crowd spoil your fun -- or your attitude.
Nine, if you are prone to fuss a lot, stop
complaining. It is a choice you can
make so do it. Think about this: nobody ever wakes up in the morning and says,
"Boy, I sure hope I run into somebody today who is complaining." People would rather not be around you if you
are constantly fussing about everything. So do yourself a big favor and stop
fussing so much. You will enjoy life more and you will be more fun to live
with.
Ten, when the bottom falls out of your life, pray for
spring. Remember that winter doesn’t
last forever. Bad times, winter times, come to us all. But things have a way of
changing, like the seasons of the year. When it is wintertime in your life, hang
on, for spring will come!
So
there you have it -- ten principles that can help you live well and squeeze
more joy out of every day. They are not easy principles to live by, but I know
they can help because daily they are helping me. + + +