Altar Call –
Opelika-Auburn News
Walter Albritton
September 7, 2008
Personal choices radically impact our lives. That’s why it is so
important during our formative years to learn how to make wise choices. One
purpose of public education is to teach students to make intelligent decisions.
When we are infants our parents make most of our decisions for us. They
decide to change our diapers. We don’t have a choice in the matter. We don’t
even decide to wet our diapers. It just happens.
Gradually we discover that we live in a world of choices. We learn that
we can choose to be content or to be miserable. We can choose to enjoy the food
that is available to us or we can complain about it.
We cannot always choose our circumstances but we can choose how we
shall react. That is one of the great benefits of the human brain. We can think
rationally about the consequences of our decisions. We can choose, for example,
not to allow someone’s behavior to provoke us to anger since anger is
detrimental to our health. There are many wonderful choices we can make that
can profoundly influence the quality of our lives. I want to share twelve of
them with you.
One, choose to like yourself. Enjoy being the person you are. Don’t
kick yourself. Never wish you were someone else. You will never be anyone else!
Affirm your own self worth. Be careful not to think you are “the greatest,” but
do think of yourself as a wonderful person.
You are not a biological accident; God made you. He made you because he
wanted a person like you to enjoy the world. When you have a day, get over it in a hurry. Refuse
to let yesterday’s bad day ruin today.
Two, expect other people to like you. Since you want other people to like you,
put Zig Zigler’s "likeability factor" to work for you. Zig says if
you want people to like you remember that people like a smile, like optimism,
like people who listen, and like kindness. Practice daily those four things.
Always remember this: people like people who like themselves. If someone does
not like you, accept it and don’t fret about it. Just hang out with people who
affirm you as a likeable person.
Three, embrace enthusiasm. It’s good for you. Every morning get
excited about being alive. You are breathing; give thanks! Refuse to let your
chin drag the ground. Wipe that frown off your face and put a smile on it even
when you are hurting. If you will, you can live every day with enthusiasm. Do
it. Stop drooping and start dancing. Kick up your heels. Live every moment with
passion.
Four, expect your future to be good. Live
with positive expectation. If Mr. Gloomy comes by, tell him to get lost. Look
for Mr. Cheerful and ask him to stay awhile. Take charge of your attitude.
Expect the best. Believe good things are going to happen to you. Turn a deaf
ear to the prophets of doom.
Five, keep on learning and growing until
you gasp your last breath.
There is so much to learn and do. So don’t quit on life until it quits on you.
Young dogs and old dogs can learn new tricks. Most of my heroes are 80 and 90
years old. They are still learning and growing and I want to be like them. They
inspire me to stay alive as long as I live.
Six, refuse to let disappointment grind you
down. Disappointments are a part of life so accept
them. But don’t allow them to lead you into despair. Look despair in the eye
and say, "Whoa! I am not going to let you spend one night with me; you are
not welcome in my life!" Disappointments are permanent only if you allow
them to be. Rise up from the ashes of defeat and plan your next victory.
Seven, hold things loosely in your hand and
treasure your relationships.
Be content with what you have. What
matters most are your relationships. If you have
anything you love more than your family and friends, give it away. Things
cannot hold your hand when you are hurting. Work hard to love people not
things.
Eight, stop trying to solve your problems
by worrying. Worry is a
thief; it robs you of joy, peace, health, and contentment. Worry changes
nothing for the good. It only makes matters worse.
Find a quart jar. Label it your Worry Jar. Jot down your worries on a
piece of paper and drop it in the jar. Refuse to think about them until next
Thursday afternoon at 2:00 o’clock. Then look them over and remind yourself how
foolish it is to worry. Instead of worrying, try to think like the woman who
said, "When I walks, I walks slow; when I sits, I
sits loose; and when I feel worry coming on, I just goes to sleep." Right
on, Sister; right on!
Nine,
believe that a sense of humor contributes to healthy living. Life without humor is dull, deadening, and
boring. If you wake up one morning and can’t think of anything funny to laugh
about, go look in the mirror. What you see there before you "fix your
face" is bound to make you grin. And don’t ever waste a grin without
adding a little laughter to it. Laughter is good medicine.
Ten, be understanding of the mistakes of
others. You make mistakes.
Other people make mistakes. Be merciful. We all have the gift of saying something
stupid and insensitive now and then. So give others the break you expect them
to give you and move on. Like you, most people need a friend, not a judge.
Eleven,
never underestimate the value of optimism. Nobody ever wakes up and says, "Boy, I hope I run into a
pessimist today!" Pessimism tends to ruin our day. But optimism is as
welcome as warm sunshine on a beautiful spring morning. So, brace yourself and
be optimistic. It won’t kill you, and it could help you to have a good day.
Think of yourself as an incurable optimist. Then act like one.
Twelve,
listen to the people who cheer you on, not the people who try to drag you down. Both kinds of people are in everyone’s
life. But we can choose which ones we will pay attention to. Be thankful for
your cheerleaders. Try to be one for a few other people, especially your family
members and friends.
Believe me, these personal choices can make a
marvelous difference in your life! + + +