Just a quick reminder this week, that we get to choose how we respond to events in our life.
It’s easy to think that we can’t help ourselves, or to blame others (or our emotions) for how we respond to the stimulus in our life. While we can blame, the truth is, we get to decide how we respond.
Let’s decide, and then follow through, on making good choices.
I’m going to talk about one of Jesus’s principles this week, so be warned. If that’s not your thing, come back next week. 😊
“If you only love the loveable, do you expect a pat on the back?” Luke 6:30 Msg.
It’s easy to love those who love, us, or to be kind to people who are kind to us. However, Jesus teaches that we’re also to be kind to those who aren’t kind to us. And to love those who don’t love us. This is challenging teaching. It’s even more challenging to put into practice.
I’ve had the “opportunity” to put this teaching into practice with a couple of people for the past 11 months. It has, indeed, been challenging, but I can also report that with prayer and commitment to Jesus’s teaching, it has gotten a little easier. Not easy, just slightly easier that it was 11 months ago.
Jesus’s teaching is for our benefit, because he wants what’s best for us. Following this particular principle has kept my heart from festering with disdain or hate toward others, and has instead caused me to regularly cast my gaze toward Jesus for his assistance, strength, and peace. All of which I have received.
So, while it’s been challenging, I can also report that it’s been what’s best for me. I have peace instead of anger, and gratitude for His teaching instead of animosity toward others.
It’s a nice place to be.
This week I’ve been reading one of my journals from 2015. Reading old journals is like being in a time machine, because I can read what I was thinking in that particular moment and also know how things turned out 8 years later. Journaling is a great way to establish benchmarks (where we currently are) and our goals/destinations (where we want to go).
I was encouraged to see that for several of my personal growth destinations I was writing about, I was able to arrive at the destination envisioned at the time. This was reassuring, as I was able to read my thought process and understand my desire, as well as actions to take, to get there.
My journals also revealed that I have areas that I wanted to improve on back in 2015, that I’m still working to improve at in 2023. I was encouraged that there are areas of growth that were important to me then that are still important to me today. And while my improvement has been slow, I still have the desire to improve moving forward. My journaling from 2015 is still motivating me to continue to grow and improve, today and beyond.
Are there any areas in your life where you’d like to improve? If so, I strongly suggest journaling about where you are, and where you want to go in life. If journaling isn’t your thing, I’d suggest at least writing down the areas you want to improve, and what that improvement looks like. This will provide a wonderful benchmark for your future self, so that they will know if they are on track or need to recalibrate. It will also make for a nice conversation with yourself at a future date.
Several years ago, my wife and I opened a savings account and titled it, “Travel”. It’s where we regularly save money for the sole purpose of traveling. Not only does having this account show that we prioritize traveling and getting away together, it gives is the freedom to go somewhere on short notice, or add a day or two to our existing plans. It’s given us the freedom, as well as the encouragement, got travel.
If something is important to us, we need to plan and execute to make it happen. Whether it’s setting aside time, money, or some other resource, our planning and execution shows our true level of commitment. If we say we want to do/have/become/change something, yet we haven’t taken any steps to bring it about, that may tell us quite a bit about how committed we actually are.
Is there something you want to do/have/become/change? If so, begin planning for it. Then, follow up on those plans with specific action. That “something” awaits.
I love the idea that there’s a place in my town where I can walk in, grab as many books as I want, and borrow them for several weeks at a time. From this same place, I can borrow audio books, guitars, and ukuleles as well! From a self-improvement standpoint, I can think of no place more beneficial than your local public library.
If you love to read and/or consider yourself a life-long-learner, I suggest (if you aren’t already) to make frequent visits your public library.
What a blessing to have such a wonderful gateway to learning right in our own towns!
Last night after work my wife and I went to the national wildlife refuge by our house to look at the birds in the area. (There is a nesting pair of bald eagles that has been cool to see!) At first glance, when we pulled up to the big duck ponds, it appeared that they were full of the regular birds you see all the time. After a closer look, that turned out not to be the case.
As we combed through the crowd of ducks with the binoculars, we started noticing out-of-the-ordinary birds we hadn’t seen before were also part of the mix. We saw a Green Winged Teal, a Cinnamon Teal, and a Ringed Neck duck. It was amazing to me how much variety there was hidden within the crowd.
That experience got me thinking that it’s probably a lot like that with how we see the world around us. Do we see all the negative things happening, or are we on the lookout for the good being done. Are we on focused on just what’s popular and mainstream, or are we looking at other forms of music, film, literature, people, food, and experiences?
There’s a lot of different and interesting things in the world that can be easily missed, unless we slow down and take are time to have a closer look.
My cousins were in town this week, and Thursday evening one of them text me to see if I’d be available for lunch on Friday. My first thought was that I would be working that day. After about 2 seconds I said, “Lunch sounds great!” We all had a great time.
I share that little story as a reminder not to be too quick to say, “No”. We can always find reasons not to do something, but we can just as well find reasons to engage, especially when it has to do with building relationships.
In 10 years, I won’t remember what I would have done at work for those couple of hour, if I had said “No” to lunch with my cousins. However, I’ll never forget the time we had.
I made a good choice!
I made a focused effort this year to be more consistent with my journaling, and it seems to be working! I’ve been writing 6 days per week since the beginning of 2023! All I needed to do was weave journaling into a part of my daily morning routine. Who knew it was that simple?
One thing I’ve been doing to start my journaling is to write 3 things that I’m grateful for. I’ve heard a lot of people suggest that, so I thought I’d give it a try. It’s amazing after a few weeks how many things you have to be grateful for. We all know that, but it’s different when you actually see them written down.
I’ve enjoyed recalling things I’m grateful for when I journal in the morning. Not only is it a good reminder of how much I have to be grateful for, it also points me in the right direction mentally every morning. When I start my day with thoughts of gratitude, it feels like I’m setting my mind up to be grateful all day, which is right where I want to be.
It’s so easy to find an excuse to get out of doing something you don’t want to do. Have you ever thought of looking for excuses to do what you know you should be doing?
For example, maybe you go to the gym every morning when you wake up. However, on this particular morning, it’s dark, cold, and rainy out when you wake up. The easy excuse to get out of going to the gym is, “It’s cold and wet outside, but it’s nice and warm in bed. I’m going to skip the gym today and go tomorrow.”
At this point, you could also look for an excuse to go to the gym, regardless of the weather. Your excuse to do what you know you should do, might be, “It’s kind of crappy out, but I’m already awake, and I’ll feel good once I’m done. There really isn’t a good reason not to go.”
Looking for excuses to follow through, instead of mailing it in, is a way to reframe the discussions we often have with ourselves when we’re trying to take the easy route. Often times we just need to give ourselves a little pep talk, or light a fire for ourselves. And often, a good excuse is just what we need.
Think, for a moment, of all the things that people can have differing opinions about. The list is endless! Topics range from volatile ones like pollical leaning and religion to more innocuous ones like music preference, being a morning or evening person, or your favorite flavor of ice cream.
Now think of the people you know. How many of them do you have the exact same opinions on every topic with? Zero? Yeah, me too.
With so many things to be divided over, it’s important that we are mindful of what we actually allow to drive wedges in our relationships. Do we really want to shut someone down or vilify them over minor differences? Do we really want our radars up looking for reasons to be divided, versus looking for what unites us? Do we want others looking us with an eye toward division?
Leading with an eye toward division comes with a high price. We miss out on opportunities to learn more about others. In some cases, we drive wedges between those closest to over insignificant differences. What a sad realization it would be to look back on such a life, and see all the division we’ve created, because all we were seeing were differences versus people.
Cause Something to Happen 