By Leland Pulley
Ask people if they want to do better in life, and they will say yes. They want to learn and experience new things. They want to accomplish more and improve their situation. Then ask them if they are doing better today than in the past. Some will say yes, some will say about the same, and some will say no. Why are their answers now different? Finally, ask them what they see in their future. Will it be better or worse than today, or their past?
Life is not fair, nor does it treat everyone equally. Some people have more opportunities. Some have more misfortunate. Some have more or bigger problems to solve. Some live less years. One thing for certain is everyone can and should do the best they can with what they have. You must make the best of your circumstances and deal with the situations you find yourself in. You must use your limited resources in the most efficient way to get more of the things you want. This is both effective living and good personal stewardship.
Unfortunately, some people squander the privileges and opportunities they have. They waste resources like time, energy, health, and money. They will make unwise decisions that affect them today and tomorrow. Eventually, these things begin to catch up with them as the years go by. Such individuals are left with less options than they would have had, if they had been better managers of their affairs. You cannot buy back time and opportunity. You cannot undo certain things. You cannot relive your life. You only have one chance with mortal life. You are to use life wisely, one day at a time, each year.
If you want to really do well in life or do better than you have been doing, then here are a few guidelines for living.
- Learn continually, especially things that have value to you and are applicable in some aspect of your life.
- Seek new experiences that will broaden you out, as well as put some color and zest into your life.
- Stop the blame others game and the complaining habit. These are losing strategies.
- Stay flexible. Do not get stuck in your ways so it is harder to change them. Avoid ruts in the road you walk down in life.
- Do not seek the easiest way in everything, nor the most comfortable. That may seem the best choice for today, but it will limit your growth and thus possibilities in the future.
- Do not become complacent. Do not be unaware of what is really going on in your environment. Otherwise, you will be less informed for making decisions, and miss out on opportunities this way.
- Be willing to take some risks. Invest in yourself and the abilities you have today. This is the way to grow. You will end up with more abilities and resources in the future.
Periodically evaluate your life. This includes your health, relationships, resources, skills, circumstances, and other things. Are you satisfied with who you are, what you have accomplished, and what you possess today? If not, what changes need to be made to do better in the future?
Avoid the common trap of merely going along with life without some long-term goals and strategy. Otherwise, you will be more likely to live on a day-to-day basis. Relying too much on this short-term perspective is not a wise thing to do. The major reason is that things begin to grow on all of us if we are not careful. Initially, it is easy to merely go along and accept things as they are. This seems innocent enough. But with time you begin to accept things that you would not have years earlier. Your senses get dull, and your discernment is not as sharp anymore. You will begin to give in to situations and circumstances and other people when you should not. If things are not the best, nor what you had desired previously, such things are gradually tolerated by you. Eventually you accept them as normal or the best you can do or the best results you can get out of your circumstances. You will lower personal standards of conduct and do things you would not have done years earlier. You lose part of your ability to distinguish between right and wrong. There is less good judgment exercised by you. Gradually, you expect less of yourself, and your expectations go down. Goals are lowered. Less effort is put into life and less is gotten out of it. With time you ultimately have less improvement, and less hope for a better life.
To help you put the odds more in your favor, seek to live and work in good environments. These are not only safe and clean environments, but edifying ones too. Environment includes the people you interact with, and the places you go. It is the entertainment you utilize and music you listen to regularly. It is what you read. It is the air you breathe and the food you eat.
Allow good people into your life. Begin with a united family. Make lots of friends. They should have good values and similar goals as yourself. Between family, relatives, neighbors, and friends, build a social network to help meet your various needs. Be willing to seek and accept advice from these people. Only a fool wants to learn everything for himself. This is a hard way to live and a slow way to make progress. Some of the people you know will be there when you need help, or have serious challenges facing you, or big problems to solve. Do not be too proud to ask for help and accept it. Others can encourage and assist and support you in many ways. Likewise, when others need your help, be willing to reciprocate and assist them. This mutual service benefits everyone.
Ultimately, only you can be a guardian of your life. So, take charge of it and manage it the best you can. Do not just live it and let the days go by in a random fashion. Think, plan, and act. Only you can judge who you truly are now and determine who you will become in the future. Evaluate yourself now and the life you are leading. Decide where some positive changes or improvements could be made. Then decide what is going to be worked on first. Set some priorities. Get to work. Only then will you have the future that you dream about today.
Key Words – learn, accomplish, improve, opportunities, circumstances, resources, effective living, personal stewardship, decisions, guidelines for living, flexible, risks, evaluate, long-term goals, discernment, conduct, friends, manage
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