Staying On Course.

“A mature person is one who does not think only in absolutes, who is able to be objective even when deeply stirred emotionally, who has learned that there is both good and bad in all people and all things, and who walks humbly and deals charitably with the circumstances of life, knowing that in this world no one is all-knowing and therefore all of us need both love and charity.”-Eleanor Roosevelt


I love how encountering the things you don’t like in life push you closer to the things that you do want in life. Or how seeing what you don’t like in a person drives you to be a better person. I am not the perfect person and I’ve certainly experienced being emotionally troubled in the past. I would even go so far as to say that I don’t know if the person I am today would want to be friends with the person I used to be. Thankfully, I have grown and am a much different person now, but every now and again you experience something or come in contact with someone who reminds you just how important it is to continue evolving and developing your values.
Even though I try to live my life in an understanding and compassionate way, not everyone else does. I’ve learned how important it is to not engage in that behavior because the test of my character comes from how I handle myself in the face of negativity. Now, more than ever, I realize just how short life is and how important it is that each person live their life with love and not hate. Sometimes it’s easy to get lost on the path that you’re traveling because saying is a lot easier than doing. Being someone who has spent a lot of time in the past being lost, I always try to remind myself of the basic things that encompass how I want to live my life and that shape the person I want to be.

*I believe we should all have our own beliefs and viewpoints, but be tolerant and open to those who’s are different than our own. What is point of having a mind if you don’t open it?? If you don’t understand, then educate. Spend more time listening then talking. Take the time to try and understand. If what you believe is different than what someone else believes, it doesn’t automatically make them wrong. We’ve all had different life experiences that make up our individual frame of reference and we should all learn to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes before we judge.

*Attitude affects everything. I think we all spend so much time focusing on the bad that we miss the good that someone may have to give or maybe we spend too much time complaining about what is wrong with this world that we fail to see what it has to offer. Your mindset can be the key to everything. It’s how you see the world, how you see other people. It can determine whether you see a setback or an opportunity or see a friend or a foe, so get your mind right.

*Be confident in yourself, but always remain humble. Trust me, if you’re arrogant or conceited, the world will see through it. If you spend a lot of time talking about how great you are or how great your life is, you’re really only trying to sell and convince yourself and not the people around you. Confidence can be seen in how you carry yourself. You don’t need to broadcast it. Don’t let your ego run your life. We all at one time or another let our own pride affect our relationships with other people, but in the end, if you don’t get over yourself, you’ll be left with only yourself.

*Spend less time competing with others and more time helping others. We’ve all probably heard, “he who dies with the most toys wins,” but the author of this trademarked phrase is a jackass. Don’t waste your time trying to be dominant over the next person. I’m pretty sure that having more possessions than the next person is a goal that even the biggest Neanderthal would laugh at. You won’t prove your worth through superficial possessions, or by being prettier than the next person, or how well connected you are. What defines your worth will come from what you do for other people and how you love.

Lastly and to sum this up…

* Believe. Live your own life. Laugh at yourself. Hustle. Be Original. Suck it up. Be Grateful. Inspire and be inspired. Do without being asked. Read. Do something no one else is doing. Pray. Go against the grain. Love. Smile at a stranger. Give to the less fortunate. Exercise. Talk about ideas, not people. Step outside your comfort zone. Encourage. Embrace. Take a chance. Pay it forward. Create. Forgive.